Changed for the Better
by Ms.Hermione.Granger12
Summary: "Who knew" she said, looking up at him. Draco brushed his fingertips across her cheek, "that you were the key to changing everything.;" Draco shook his head, a small smirk across his face. "Not really. See, you have changed everything for the better and today is the beginning of our new life. Are you ready?" "Im ready for anything, only if it's with you" Hermione said, smiling.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hiya! This is my first fanfiction do please be gentle! I also do not have a beta, but if anyone is willing to volunteer that would be lovely. Thanks xo_**

CHAPTER 1

"Another whiskey sir?"

"Just leave the bottle." __

Draco Malfoy poured himself another large whiskey at the bar of some dingy back alley Muggle Bar, ignoring the familiar burn of the amber liquid. He would be lying if he had said that today had been the hardest day of his career as a Lawyer, having just been responsible for just sending several of his old school friends to Azkaban for their crimes against fellow wizards during the Great War.

Draco had managed to escape punishment for his crimes due to his last minute change of heart and his Mothers deceit to the Dark Lord. Since then he'd been on somewhat of a crusade to erase his past and restore the name Malfoy back in the wizarding world. His choice to become a lawyer surprised every one, especially when he chose to prosecute those who had belonged to the same cause as he did growing up. In his youth, Draco was able to identify with them, but now he was filled with a mixture of disgust,at their actions, and shame, that he ever identified with them.

As Draco sat at the bar, thinking over his choices and listening to the storm outside, he barely noticed a woman walk in.

"Whiskey. Large."

Draco looked up and saw a none other than Hermione Granger sitting opposite him.

As Hermione walked down the street in the pouring

She looked like Hermione Granger, only she was absolutely soaked from the rain outside and she was wearing a wedding dress.

"Granger?" Draco asked, not really believing the sight before him.

"Malfoy." She replied, removing the wet hair from her face.

"What in Merlins name are you doing here dressed like that?" He asked, gesturing at her peculiar attire.

"I was getting married today." Hermione said, motioning to the soaked dress she was wearing.

"Clearly. And why are you not there now?" Draco said, pouring himself another drink.

"I walked in on my darling fiancé Ronald shagging Lavender Brown in a bathroom 10 minutes before I was due to walk down the aisle." Hermione stated bluntly, downing her drink in one mouthful.

Draco stared at Hermione open mouthed. He knew that Ron Weasley was stupid, but he didn't realise he was _that_ stupid.

"Well shit Granger. Here." He said, sliding the bottle of whiskey down the bar to her. "You need this more than I do."

Hermione laughed as she caught the bottle sliding down the bar. She took in Draco Malfoys appearance. He looked like how she remember him, except he looked tired and worn down from whatever he had done today.

"Come on," she said, motioning to an empty booth behind them. "I'll need help finishing this."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but still followed her into the booth with his glass, not really sure how this night would end up.

As the clock struck eleven and the bartender called for last drinks, Hermione realised that she was in trouble.

"Shit." She muttered

"What?" Draco asked, taking a final sip from his glass.

"I've forgotten to find somewhere to stay tonight." Hermione giggled drunkenly.

"What about your place?" Draco asked.

"Ron might be there." Hermione replied, finishing her drink.

"Why not stay with Potter and his wife?" Draco enquired, wondering why she would avoid her friends.

She shook her head ferociously. "Because I don't want to. Harry is his best friend and Ginny is his sister and he's probably there."

It was a fair point that she had, although Draco thought that Hermione should give Potter more credit than that, especially in these circumstances. He wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to help her but he wasn't sure if she would accept it.

"You could stay at my place." He suggested quietly, waiting to see her reaction.

"Why would you do that for me?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "You hate me."

"I don't hate you Granger." He said calmly, running his finger along the edge of the glass. "And I can't stand the thought of walking out of here and leaving you to your own devices."

Hermione looked at him, focusing as best she could with half a bottle of whiskey in her. He did look genuine in his intentions and he had sat drinking with her for the past few hours.

"Ok then." She agreed, not really sure if she could have reached this decision if she was sober. "Just two conditions."

"And what might they be?" Draco asked, a small smile coming to his face.

"One, promise me you won't tell anybody where I am." She instructed, holding one finger up.

"Ok." Draco agreed, "and two?"

"Don't take me anywhere near the drawing room"

Draco's shoulders dropped and he suddenly felt sick. She thought he lived at the Manor. The same place where she was tortured. The same place where he did nothing to save her. He actually lived in London, muggle London no less. He found the busy city life suited him better, plus living amongst muggles gave Draco some much needed privacy.

"Ok Granger." He said, standing up and offering her his coat for protection from the cold outside.

Hermione stood up, wobbling slightly as she put her arms through the sleeves. Draco reached out and put an arm around her waist to support her as they left the bar. He hailed a cab, bundled Hermione inside and muttered his address to the driver.

"Why are you doing this for me Malfoy?" Hermione asked, hiccuping slightly. "It's not like we're friends or anything."

Draco looked at her, not really sure of the answer himself. "Well," he began, "it wouldn't have been very gentlemanly of me to leave you in that place in this state and I've figured you've had a rough day, so no point adding to it."

He looked at Hermione after he had finished speaking, but she had fallen asleep, using his arm as a pillow. She looked peaceful when she slept, like she had nothing to worry about, but Draco knew that once she woke up and was sober, that she would have to face these issues whether she wanted to or not.

The taxi pulled up outside Draco's house in Knightsbridge and when the driver was distracted, he silently cast a feather weight charm on Hermione, knowing that she would be a dead weight if he attempted to pick her up now.

"Enjoy your wedding night." The taxi driver said to Draco with a wink as he pulled away.

Draco just scowled at the man before realising that they probably did look like newlyweds, what with Hermione in a wedding dress and him in a suit. He carried Hermione up the stairs, opened the front door. He somehow managed to drop his briefcase and kick his shoes off as he carried her up the stairs to one of his guest bedrooms. He laid her on the bed carefully before going to his bedroom to grab her something more appropriate to sleep in.

When he returned with a pair of pyjama pants and one of his old Slytherin t-shirts shrunk down so she wasn't swimming in it, he found her sitting on the edge of the bed in a nude strapless bra and matching panties.

"Uhhh here," Draco said, walking into the room, his eyes glued firmly to the floor and holding out the pyjamas. "I thought you'd like to sleep in something a little less formal."

Hermione wordlessly took them and changed into them. As Draco was walking out, she mumbled a thank you.

Halfway to the door, he heard her ask herself quietly, "What did I do wrong?"

Draco turned around to look at her. She looked broken, the Weasel had finally broken her. Draco turned around and sat next to her on the bed, not really sure what to do, upset women were not his forte.

"Look Granger," He started, "Weasel never deserved you and he was never going to treat you right."

"But we were supposed to be together." Hermione moaned.

"Says who?"

"Everybody. It's how it was supposed to be." She said, like it was common knowledge. "Harry married Ginny and I was supposed to marry Ron. That was the way it was supposed to end up."

"Well that's ridiculous." Draco snorted. "You shouldn't live your life according to how others dictate. Trust me. I should know."

Hermione looked up at him, her big brown eyes filled with tears. Then suddenly she flung her arms around him and began to sob. Draco immediately put his arms around her, letting her release all of the emotions she had been walling up. He felt a little awkward being in such close proximity to a hysterical Hermione Granger, but he figured he'd come this far in redeeming himself, that he might as well keep going.

After twenty minutes, when she had composed herself, Draco removed her arms from him. "If there is anything you need, uh, my bedroom is up the stairs and to the right and the kitchen is downstairs, help yourself." He informed her as he was in the doorway.

Hermione just nodded in response as she crawled under the quilt and falling asleep.

Draco closed the door and retreated downstairs, running his hand over his face and thinking about what an odd day he had had. He went into the kitchen and pulled a beer out the fridge, he popped the lid and took a large swig and looked around his kitchen when his thoughts wandered to the sleeping woman upstairs. Draco hadn't really seen Hermione since they left school. He knew that she got together with Weasley and that he moved them all the way up to Scotland, but that's about it. She looked almost the same, she had cut her hair to just under her ears and had grown into a more mature look, which Draco thought made her look more attractive. Draco quickly pushed that thought aside.

He finished his beer and put the empty bottle on the counter, moving up the stairs he pulled out his muggle mobile phone and dialled a number he never thought he would.

"Hello?"

"Potter." Draco said, stifling a yawn. "Sorry to be ringing so late."

 _Draco_ _walked through the Ministry towards the Auror offices with a determined look on his face. He knew that if he didn't do this now, he never would. He walked up to the Head of Departments door, knocked three times and entered._

" _Afternoon Potter." Draco said, a bit nervously_

 _"Malfoy." Harry replied politely, trying and failing to keep a confused look off of his face._

 _"There is something I need to talk to you about." He said, gaining some composure._

 _Harry pointed to the seat opposite him, looking just as confused as before. Draco sat down opposite his old school nemesis, steadying his breathing he mustered the courage to look Harry Potter straight in the eyes._

 _"Well," Draco began, tapping his fingers nervously, "I've just joined the Ministry as a junior Lawyer, for now I'll be focusing on prosecuting former Death Eaters and representing victims of the war."_

 _Harry's eyebrows raised in shock at what Draco was saying, but Draco couldn't help himself. He was rambling and he knew it and so did Harry._

 _"What I'm trying to get at," Draco continued, taking a deep breath, "is that we're obviously going to be working in close proximity to one another, so I was hoping that we could move past our Hogwarts days and possibly be friendly."_

 _Draco waited while Harry looked at him, studying him to see if his intentions were genuine. Harry stood up and held his hand out. Draco stood up and shook it. He felt a sudden relief in himself, that this was the right path to his redemption not just in the Wizarding world, but his own peace of mind._

"What do you need?" Harry Potter said, rather tensely. "Sorry, we've only just got James to sleep after today's circus."

Draco hadn't realised how late it was, he glanced at the clock and realised that it was nearly one thirty in the morning.

"Sorry."

"No I am." Harry said tiredly, "It was Hermione and Ron's wedding today."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Draco said, "It's about Granger. She's asleep in my spare room."

"What?" Harry practically yelled. "How the fuck did that happen?"

"I was in a bar having a drink after the shit day I had and she burst in in her dress. The short story is she got drunk and didn't want to go home out of fear of the Weasel-" Draco told Harry.

"Why didn't she come here then?" Harry interrupted.

"She said something about Gin being his sister and you being his best mate." Draco explained, "For the record, I thought she should have given you and your wife more credit than that. So I told her she could stay at mine tonight."

There was silence on the other end. Draco could tell that Harry was getting angry at Ron and the shit storm he created.

"Tell you what," Draco said, quickly thinking of a plan, "Why don't you, Gin and James come over tomorrow at 11 and we'll sort this out tomorrow?"

"That sounds like a great idea." Harry said, sounding relieved that Draco had thought of what to do. "See you tomorrow mate."

Draco hung up and got changed for bed. As he crawled into bed and turned the light off he reflected on his conversation with Harry. It had been three years since they became friends, and there was not a moment of regret. All he had to do was wait and see what the morning would bring when Hermione woke up. He wondered what would happen in the morning when she woke up, either she would scream the house down or hex him, but knowing her, Draco thought, it would probably be both.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Here it is my lovelies. Chapter 2! Please leave reviews and tell me what you think xoxo_**

CHAPTER 2

Hermione woke up feeling awful. She knew that if she opened her eyes that the reality of yesterday would hit her, so she was perfectly content with staying in that place halfway between asleep and awake. She swaddled herself amongst the soft sheets, wishing herself back to sleep.

As she wriggled around, Hermione realised that she was feeling out of place, something was wrong with her sheets but she couldn't figure out what. She opened her eyes and was met with a room darkened by thick curtains and walls pained with cream and dark blue. This wasn't her house. Hermione started to panic at not knowing her whereabouts when she noticed a note on the bedside table in unfamiliar handwriting.

 _Hermione,_

 _There is an ensuite attached to your room if you feel like taking a shower._

 _The Potters' will be over at about eleven but there's no rush._

 _I'll be downstairs when you're ready._

 _Draco_

Draco. Draco Malfoy. As Hermione scanned the room she noticed her wedding dress was hanging up over the wardrobe door and she was wearing men's pyjamas shrunken down. She pulled back the blankets and swung her legs out of bed, her toes sinking into the plush cream coloured carpet. She looked at the clock and saw it read one thirty, putting her face into her hands. Of course, Draco Malfoy. What she did last night was coming back to her, damn whiskey.

"Well Hermione," she said to herself, "it doesn't seem like your life can get any worse."

Hermione got up and walked into the ensuite and ran a shower. The hot water felt wonderful on her skin. As she washed her hair she thought about yesterday. Ron cheated on her. Ron cheated on her with Lavender Brown. Hermione gagged at the thought. What did Lavender Brown have that she didn't, besides a questionable attitude towards men.

Hermione didn't know how long she had been in the shower, but when she saw that her fingers had begun to prune, she decided that it has been long enough. She wrapped herself in a bathrobe and went to get changed. She didn't have any clothes though. When she got to the end of the bed, she saw that there was a pile of her clothes at the end of the bed.

Once she was dressed, Hermione went out of the bedroom and walked out onto the landing. She could hear Draco's and Harry's voice. Hermione took a deep breath and walked down the stairs, not sure of what sight she'd see when she got there.

"What do you mean he's done a runner?"

"Exactly that." Harry said, taking a sip of coffee. "Ron has done a runner. I heard from someone that he's gone across Europe."

"So he ruined Grangers life and the left her to clean up the mess he caused. Typical." Draco scoffed. Harry just nodded in agreement.

"He might be my brother, but if he knows what's good for him, he'll stay away for a long time." Ginny said, putting her son on the floor so he could walk over to his father.

"Uh hello." Hermione said quietly from the doorway.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried, practically running over and giving her friend a hug. "I am so sorry about yesterday. How are you?"

"I'm fine, hungover, but fine." Hermione said with a small smile.

"Draco was telling me you're reasoning for not coming to us last night." Harry said, looking at Hermione over the top of his glasses.

"Oh did he?" Hermione said, shooting Draco a menacing look, which made him squirm a little. "Well he had no right to."

"No right to?" Harry asked.

"No. It's my business. And if I wanted it broadcasted I would have." She snapped, looking directly at Draco. "And I distinctly remember telling him not to tell you that I was here."

"Oh yeah because you suddenly dictate who I talk to." Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Since he's not your friend, yes. I do." Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well he is as a matter of fact." Draco bit back. "And since you refused to tell him where you were, someone had to be the responsible adult and make sure people knew you were safe."

Hermione bit back her retort when she felt a small set of hands pull at her jeans.

"Aunt Hermione!" James said impatiently, he had been trying to get her attention as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

"James!" Hermione said, picking him up and giving him a big hug.

"I missed you!" James told her, flinging his arms around her neck.

Draco looked at Harry who smiled. Thank Merlin his son knew how to diffuse a situation.

"Look Granger," Draco said, "how about a coffee?"

"Why?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Because that's what people do in the morning." Ginny interrupted, turning away to make her some coffee.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down, still holding James.

"I need to find somewhere to live." She said, looking at Harry. "I miss living in London."

"You can stay with us if you like." Harry offered.

"Thanks for the offer Harry, but it doesn't look like you'll have room." Hermione laughed, motioning towards Ginny who was heavily pregnant.

"Stay with Draco." Ginny said, passing Hermione her coffee and sitting down, rubbing her belly.

"What?" Draco and Hermione said in unison.

"It makes sense." Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "It's in London and you're already here plus it's a ten minute walk to our house. Plus it will make Ron absolutely furious."

Draco thought about it. Although it didn't make sense to him, Ginny had obviously thought it through and he had enough sense to not argue with the pregnant Potter. It would be nice to have the company around the house, and any chance to wind up his former school nemesis was something that he couldn't pass up.

"I'm not opposed to it." Draco said, trying to be nonchalant. "It's up to you Granger. The offer is there if you want it."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everybody had gone mad. Saying no was on the tip of her tongue when a little voice in her head told her that if she said that Ginny was right about living with Draco, Ron would be extremely angry. That was good enough for her.

"Ok." She said, taking a sip of coffee and staring at Draco.

"Excellent." Draco said, staring back.

Silence filled the kitchen before Harry spoke, breaking the tension. "Well, Hermione. How about we go and get your things then?"

"Will he be there?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking panicked.

"No," Harry reassured her, "but if he is, I'll get rid of him."

Hermione smiled and set James down so she could get up. She watched him walk over to Draco who immediately picked him up and started to tickle him, making James laugh hysterically .

"We'll see you in about an hour." Harry said, giving his wife a kiss goodbye.

Once they left Draco could feel Ginny staring at him. "What?" He asked, still feeling a little uncomfortable.

"You're a good man Draco Malfoy." Ginny said smiling. "And I speak for Harry too when I say that I'm glad she bumped into you last night."

Draco felt himself go red at her words, distracting himself with James so he didn't have to look at her when he spoke.

"It didn't feel right to leave her there." Draco explained. "What Weasel did to her was bad enough and I didn't feel like adding to her already shit day. Plus it'll be nice to have some attractive company."

If Ginny noticed what he said, she didn't say anything and he was grateful for that, it still didn't change that he meant what he said.

"I can't believe your wife suggested I live with Draco." Hermione said, waving her wand so all of her books would go into the magically extended bag.

"I can't believe you said yes." Harry retorted, placing other bits of Hermione's belongings into the bag. "He's not a bad guy anymore"

"I know that." Hermione said, "I just don't trust him."

"I do." Harry stated. "He's actually been a great friend. Ginny likes him and so does James. James has certainly seen more of Draco than you and Ron."

Hermione felt sad by what Harry was saying. Her and Ron certainly hadn't seen Harry or his family enough, when she thought about it, they hadn't seen them in nearly eighteen months. Living in Scotland was nice, but it wasn't London. Hermione got a job in a wizard library, restoring books that had been damaged during the war and Ron was always between jobs. Looking back, Hermione realised that Ron was probably keeping her out of the way so he could be with Lavender or some other woman.

Hermione hadn't realised that she started to cry until Harry put an arm around her.

"He never deserved you, you know." Harry said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze.

"I failed." Hermione sobbed.

"Hey." Harry said, turning her so she was facing him. "You did not fail, do you hear me? He failed you. You're going to have a happy life and he's going to live knowing that he let the best thing that could have happened to him slip away."

Hermione smiled at Harry. He always knew what to say to make her feel better. Looking around the house, she noticed how empty it was without her things in it. It didn't even really look like Ron lived here.

"Ready?" Harry asked, holding his hand out to her.

"Just a second." Hermione told her, writing a note. She set it down on the kitchen table, placing her engagement ring on top of it, before walking out of the door with Harry.

 _Goodbye_

"Uncle Draco?" James asked, climbing into the sofa next to him.

"Yeah buddy?" Draco said, ruffling his hair.

"Why is Aunt Hermione sad?"

"Uhhhh..." Draco looked at Ginny, not really sure how to answer his question, Ginny didn't look like she knew either.

"Well, see your Uncle Ron was very mean to her." Draco explained.

"And now she is going to live with you?" James asked.

"Yes. Until she feels better." Draco told him.

"I think that if you kiss her, she'll feel better." James said, rather matter of factly.

Ginny started laughing at Draco as he started at James with an open mouth. "How on earth do you figure that?" He asked, trying to compose himself.

"Well when Mummy is upset, Daddy kisses her and she stops being upset. I think Aunt Hermione would like that." James said, getting down off the seat and walking over to his mum who was still laughing.

Before Draco could ask any more questions, Harry and Hermione walked into the room.

"Where would you like my stuff?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Uhh just in the bedroom where you stayed last night." Draco told her. Hermione turned around and walked away up the stairs without saying anything.

Hermione walked up the stairs and into what was now her bedroom. She unloaded her clothes into the empty draws. When she was all done, the only thing left was her wedding dress. She just looked at it, wondering what to do with it. Then she had an idea, so she grabbed the dress and marched back downstairs with it.

Harry and Ginny were sitting on the sofa while Draco was cooking dinner with "help" from James when Hermione came back into the room.

"Is it alright if I go outside?" Hermione asked, motioning to the door.

"Uhh sure." Draco said, furrowing his brows when he saw what she was holding.

Hermione marched over to the door and flung it open. Harry, Ginny and Draco all looked at each other before going outside. Hermione had magically suspended her dress in midair and was looking at them as they barged through the door. Without saying a word, Hermione took her wand and set fire to her wedding dress.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Ginny screeched at her.

"I'm getting rid of this dress." Hermione told them. "Fire purifies things and I need to purify my life of Ronald Weasley."

Draco smiled at her. He had to give her credit, she had just been through probably the most humiliating experience of her life, yet here she was choosing not to let it destroy her. Draco suddenly had an idea, he ran back into the kitchen and grabbed a packet of marshmallows from the cupboard and some fondue skewers and ran back out.

"What do you think James?" Draco asked him, showing him what he had.

"Uncle Draco!" James exclaimed, clapping his hands in excitement. "It's like you could read my mind!"

James took Draco's hand and led him down towards Hermione's burning dress. Draco sat on the grass with James sitting on his lap as Harry and Ginny joined them.

"Here Aunt Hermione." James said, offering her a marshmallow.

Hermione smiled at took it from him, sitting down opposite Draco. She watched as they interacted with one another. Draco had changed, that much was obvious, but Hermione still had reservations about him. Whether or not she was holding onto their old school rivals was something she hadn't worked out yet, but she promised herself that she would give him a chance.

Draco saw that Hermione was staring at him, he smiled at her and she looked away. Draco promised himself that he would make an effort to get along with her. How difficult could getting along with Hermione Granger be?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi everyone. Gosh aren't you wonderful, favouriting my story. Sorry for the delay, I'm flying back home after a holiday in Europe and the jetlag is terrible! Remember to leave reviews xoxo**_

CHAPTER 3

"Where the bloody hell is it?!"

Draco was searching all over his house for his briefcase. It's a house not the Royal Albert Hall, it simply _had_ to be here somewhere.

Hermione walked down the stairs looking angrily at Draco. She'd been having a nice sleep in until she heard him basically tearing his house apart and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"What in heavens sake are you looking for?" She yelled at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm looking for my God damn briefcase!" Draco yelled back, continuing his search.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed past him to get to a cupboard by the front door. She opened it and pulled out his briefcase, throwing it at him.

"There." Hermione said, walking into the kitchen.

"Why was it there?" Draco snapped, getting annoyed at himself for not looking there.

"Because it's a sensible place to put it after I nearly broke my neck tripping over it yesterday." Hermione said, like she was explaining something to James.

Draco shook his hands like he was going to choke her when her back was turned. The damn woman was so infuriating but she was right, but Draco wasn't going to admit it to her. The past few weeks she had been staying with him were tense to say the least. They were polite to each other but she was still somewhat hostile towards Draco, not that he could blame her after the way he treated her as children, but at the same time they were in their twenties now and she needed to realise that he wasn't the same person.

"I'll be back at three today." Draco told Hermione, following her into the kitchen.

"How come?" Hermione asked, sitting at the kitchen bar. It was odd that he was coming home at three, his usual work day finished at five thirty.

"I've got an appeal case that I have to stop."

"And that means you don't feel like doing anymore work?" Hermione said rolling her eyes.

Draco just stared at her before calmly saying, "I have to argue why Goyle, his parents and elder Parkinson's have to stay in Azkaban."

Hermione wasn't expecting him to say that. She felt her face go red in embarrassment. How could she forget, Draco is a prosecuting lawyer, of course he would have to argue against nearly all of his old school friends and their families for their actions during the war.

"I'm sorry for what I said." Hermione told him sincerely. "I'll make dinner tonight for you."

"Really?" Draco said, looking at her like she'd gone insane. In the whole time they'd been living together, they'd always made separate meals.

"Unless that's suddenly a problem." Hermione quickly said.

"Uhh no." Draco said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I appreciate it. You should know then that I'm allergic to peanuts."

"No peanuts. Got it." Hermione smiled at him, "You're going to be late."

"Right." Draco smiled back. "See you later."

At three Hermione had just finished assembling the lasagne she'd made when she heard the front door close.

"Hello?" Hermione called out, knowing it could only be one person.

"Hey." Draco called back. "And just so you know, my briefcase is in the cupboard."

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled. She could see that he was genuinely trying to get along with her, and she knew that she was stubbornly fighting him at every chance she got.

"How did it go today?" Hermione asked, pulling out two red wine glasses from the cupboard.

"Honestly?" Draco replied, putting his face in his hands. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Hermione didn't know what to say to that. She poured him a large red wine and waited for him to continue.

"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't great to see my childhood friend, his parents and my godparents in shackles but I felt relieved." Draco continued. "Relieved that it wasn't me on that side of the courtroom."

Hermione couldn't help the look of surprise on her face. If this wasn't concrete proof that Draco Malfoy had changed, then Hermione didn't know what else would be. Summoning her Gryffindor courage, she walked around the island to stand face to face with him. Hermione gently put her hand on his shoulder, she felt him flinch at her unexpected touch.

"Draco. I..." Hermione began, before there were three hard bangs on the front door.

"I'll go get the door." Hermione said quietly, removing her hand from his shoulder.

Draco exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in. He reached over and grabbed his glass, downing its contents in one mouthful. Draco started to make his way upstairs to change out of his court suit when he heard Hermione raising her voice to whoever was at the door.

Hermione walked away from Draco to answer the door. She felt the hostility she had towards him started to melt away when she heard him speak of his relief in court. Hermione knew it mustn't have been easy denying their appeal, but at the same time, she did feel a tiny amount of pride in him that he was able to stand on his own and do what was right. As she opened the door, Hermione looked straight into the eyes of the lady person she ever expected to see standing on Draco Malfoy's doorstep.

"What do you want Ronald?" Hermione spat at him angrily.

"You're coming home with me." Ron told her, grabbing her hard by the wrist.

"No." She said, twisting out of his reach. "I'm not. We're over."

"No we're not." Ron told her, looking at her like she was stupid. "You've had time to calm down, things can go back to normal now."

"I've had time to calm down?!" Hermione yelled, "Calm down? This isn't some little argument we had. I saw you shagging Lavender fucking Brown literally right before I was supposed to become your wife!"

"So what, Lav and me are over now." Ron said, shrugging his shoulders. "Just come home."

Hermione went to close the door but Ron stopped her. "Don't do that baby. Now stop being stupid and come home." He said.

Ron grabbed her wrist again and started pulling her out of the door, ignoring her yelling in protest.

"And just what do you think you are doing?"

Hermione's head whipped around and saw Draco leaning against the doorframe. She never thought there would be a day where she was relieved to see Draco Malfoy. Ron had loosened his grip in surprise so Hermione took her chance to get free and move towards Draco.

"I'll say it again, what do you think you're doing Weasel?" Draco said, looking Ron in the eyes.

"I'm taking my fiancé away from you, Death Eater." Ron spat.

"Oh please," Draco said, rolling his eyes and standing straight. "We all know I haven't been one since we were seventeen."

"A leopard doesn't change its spots." Ron growled.

"You should know."

The two men looked at each other. Hermione wasn't sure of what was about to happen, but she was sure that if anything did, Draco would easily defeat Ron.

"Now if you don't mind Weasel," Draco said, putting an arm around Hermione's shoulders and guiding her back inside. "We have plans."

Draco shut the door in Ron Weasley's face, locked it and threw up a silencing spell for good measure. He followed Hermione back into the kitchen. He found her sitting at the bench with her face in her hands, Draco stood opposite her, pouring himself another red wine.

"Well that was satisfying." Draco said, taking a sip of wine.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes red from crying. "What was?" She sniffed.

"I have always wanted to slam the door in Weasley's face." Draco smiled.

Hermione laughed. Of course he would find that satisfying. "Thank you for helping me." She sniffed.

"You're welcome Granger."

Silence fell between the two, it wasn't awkward but still a little uncomfortable.

"Would you like a bath?" Draco offered.

Hermione smiled weakly at him, "That actually sounds lovely."

"I'm going up to get changed, I'll run you one." Draco said, walking towards the stairs.

He walked into Hermione's ensuite and ran the hot water, filling it with lavender scented bubbles. He waved his wand and magicked dozens of candles around the bathroom, hoping it would relax her.

"Baths ready." He called down the stairs before walking into his bedroom.

Draco got changed into pyjama pants and a white t-shirt, not caring that it was four o'clock in the afternoon, trying to think of anything but Hermione in the bath.

After dinner Draco and Hermione found themselves in the living room watching the muggle news. Hermione got up and went into the kitchen, returning with the bottle of wine from earlier and a full one with their two glasses.

"Cheers." She said, passing him a glass.

Draco accepted it from her and went back to watching the television when he heard a small sniff coming from the woman sitting next to him. He looked at her and saw the tears streaming down her face.

"Granger, what's wrong?" Draco asked, concern in his voice as he put his glass down and moved closer to her.

"I just can't stop thinking about what he said."

Draco knew who she was talking about. He knew Ron Weasley was stupid, but to choose someone else over Hermione would have to be the stupidest thing he's ever done.

"Listen to me Hermione." Draco said softly, turning her face towards his. "Don't waste any of your thoughts on him. He let possibly the greatest thing that any man would be lucky to call his slip through his fingers."

Hermione looked at Draco and Draco was looking back. He used his thumb to dry a stray tear, then he leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. When he moved away, Hermione blinked several times before leaning over and kissing him back. Draco heard Hermione softly moan when he gently bit her bottom lip.

Hermione moved so she straddled his hips, moving her hands up into his hair. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, eliciting another moan from her. She broke their kiss and looked at him. They were both panting slightly and their lips were a little swollen. Hermione leaned down and pressed her forehead against his, feeling him smile and hold her a little tighter.

"Not bad, Granger."

"Not so bad yourself, Malfoy."

Hermione moved off Draco, but still stayed close so he could keep an arm around her. She thought of their kiss. Ron had certainly never kissed her like that before. The way Draco kissed her made her tingle all over, like he was telling everything without saying anything.

"Draco." Hermione said softly. "What does this mean now?"

Draco didn't really know how to respond to that, as he only had fleeting thoughts about it but pushed them out of his head. "Well it means my dead Granger that I fancy you." He told her.

"And why would you fancy me?"

"I honestly have no idea." Draco said. He noticed her face changed. "Maybe because I just feel different when you're around. Like earlier today in the kitchen. Talking to you about what happens made it seem like the world has changed, like I've changed."

Hermione looked back up at him and smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I know you've changed Draco, Harry wouldn't be friends with you if you hadn't. But what if I said that this is it, nothing else would happen between us."

"Well then." Draco said, manoeuvring so he could look into her eyes. "Then I would have to settle for that. Believe me, I would love to have more but if that's really what you want, then so be it."

Hermione just looked away, focusing on the television. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest at his words, nobody had said anything like that to her. Hermione slowly realised that if she let him, Draco could be the one to help her move forward, he could even be the one for her.

Draco wasn't really sure what had just happened, but he knew that he didn't want it to end. Hermione's kiss made him feel things he didn't know he could feel. Draco sighed when he felt Hermione lean into him, knowing that their lives had just changed.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hiya everyone! Sorry for the delays, I've just returned from holiday and the jetlag has been awful! Now that I'm all refreshed, here is Chapter 4! Remember to leave reviews and tell me what you think or leave suggestions xoxo**_

CHAPTER 4

"So how's Draco?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny trying to sound casual. "He's fine. Somewhere with your husband I think."

Hermione and Ginny had gone shopping for baby clothes in upmarket London as Ginny was due to have her second son any day now.

"I also heard what happened with my idiot brother."

Hermione didn't say anything for a bit, she just kept browsing the clothes. "It was nothing. The sooner he gets it into his head that it's over, the better." Hermione said, moving her sleeve down over the bruise marks Ron had left on her wrist. He wasn't going to lie, Ron had scared her a little yesterday, but Draco being there had made her feel safe.

"Hermione? Hello?"

Hermione was startled to see Ginny waving her hand right in front of her face. "Sorry. I must have spaced out for a second."

Hermione and Ginny paid for the various items of clothing before apparating to Grimmauld Place. Hermione dumped the bags on the table and put the kettle on. Hermione turned around and saw Ginny staring at her.

"What?"

Ginny said nothing, but raised one eyebrow knowingly. Hermione didn't like the way Ginny was looking at her, it made her feel like a naughty child standing in front of Mummy.

"Okay fine!" She yelled, waving her arms about. "We kissed!"

"I knew it!" Ginny shrieked, smiling and clapping her hands.

Hermione was confused, she expected Ginny to have some sort of lecture prepared about how kissing another man only a few weeks after she left her brother at the alter was a bad idea. She was not prepared for this reaction.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"All happy about Draco and me when only a few weeks ago I was literally about to marry your brother."

Ginny looked like she was thinking hard about what to say. "I don't think you and my dolt of a brother were supposed to be together. He was never going to love you like you deserve to be."

Hermione knew what Ginny was saying was right, but that still didn't stop it from hurting any less. She heard the kettle whistle and tried to distract herself by making tea.

"If you let him, I'm almost certain that Draco would be that guy."

"Almost certain?"

"Well the eleven year old version of me still hates him."

"What do you mean he turned up at your door?"

"Exactly that. He started yelling about how Granger was stupid and how she had time to calm down, then next thing, he's trying to drag her out onto the street."

Harry and Draco were at a pub, playing their usual game of darts and having some male bonding.

"I really didn't think he'd be _that_ stupid." Harry said, shaking his head and collecting his darts.

"I could have told you that." Draco said, finishing the rest of his beer. Whether or not Harry heard him or chose to ignore him, Draco didn't know.

"I just don't get it." Draco said, "How could Weasley go from a stunner like Granger to a slag like Brown."

"Because he wanted his cake and to eat it too." Harry said bluntly. "He cared more about his ego than being with probably one of the few people who could look beyond his faults."

"She deserved so much better than the pitiful life he offered her." Draco said.

"So how's life with Hermione?" Harry asked, putting on his jacket.

"Not so bad." Draco admitted, following Harry out the door and in the direction of Grimmauld Place. "We had a breakthrough in hostility yesterday when I told her about court."

"Well if you keep it up, she'll finally realise that I was right for once and you've changed." Harry said, unlocking the door.

As the two men walked into the kitchen, they saw Hermione and Ginny in fits of giggles at the table.

"And what is so funny?" Harry asked, sitting next to his wife.

"I was just telling Hermione here about what James said yesterday. That if the baby is ugly, could we please swap it for a broom!"

All four adults found themselves laughing at James. "Speaking of James, where is he?" Harry asked, checking under the table to see if he was in his favourite hiding spot.

"He's at Mum and Dads tonight." Ginny explained. "To give us 'one last quiet night' as Mum put it before the baby comes."

"And that's our cue to leave." Draco said, standing up. "Let me know if you want to come over tomorrow."

"Uhhuh. Bye." Harry said, waving his hand in their general direction.

Draco rolled his eyes before grabbing Hermione's hand and apparating them back home. Hermione walked into the kitchen and grabbed ingredients out of the fridge to make pasta. Draco smiled as he watched her move about, how she would always tuck the same strand of hair behind her ear, how her tongue would run across her lips when she was concentrating. Draco quickly realised that he was starting to have stronger feelings for the beautiful witch standing in front of him.

Draco moved behind Hermione and wrapped his arms around her middle, making her jump. She span around to face him and Draco noticed that her breathing had increased and her cheeks were flushed. Before she had a chance to say anything, he leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.

"And what was that?" Hermione asked, fluttering her eyes in slight shock at Draco's kiss.

"For the supposedly brightest witch of our age, you should know what that was Granger." Draco said, rolling his eyes and earning a slap from Hermione.

"Hermione. I... I..."

Hermione looked into Draco's grey eyes and saw everything he was trying to say. Hermione realised at that moment that Draco would be the person who she could be happy with, that she had let go of their actions as children during the war and saw that her way was forward. With Draco. So she sprung up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I know I haven't given you much reason throughout the years," Draco said when they broke apart," "but do you think you could forgive me and take a chance?"

Hermione stopped and pretended to think about what he said. "Hmmmm. Well ok then." She said with a smile.

They let go of each other's embrace and continued to cook, but now with the occasional touch or a wink.

After dinner, Hermione and Draco found themselves on the sofa watching a film. Hermione had her head in Draco's lap and he was playing with her hair. Looking up at him, Hermione really took notice of him. How is face had filled out into a mans and how he had a chiseled jaw, how his hair had taken on a shaggy look. Hermione felt her heart beat faster, she honestly couldn't remember when she last felt like this. Draco looked down and smiled at her before leaning down to kiss her again.

As Draco kissed her, Hermione wrapped her arm around his neck and deepened the kiss. Draco pulled Hermione up so that she was straddling him, just like she did in their first kiss. He ran his hands up and down her sides as she started to unto the buttons on his shirt. Draco shrugged out of his shirt, before removing Hermione's blouse and revealing her taut stomach and ample chest. Draco moved his lips away from Hermione's and left a trail of kisses down her neck and onto her chest, making Hermione moan. Draco stood up, cupping Hermione's arse as she wrapped her legs around his waist, still kissing her furiously as he walked up the stairs and into his bedroom.

Draco carefully lay Hermione down on the bed, climbing on top of her and using his elbows to support his weight. "If you want to stop Granger," Draco said between kisses. "Just say the word."

Hermione grabbed his face gently in her hands, interrupting what he was doing so she could look at him. "I don't want you to stop." She whispered, as her hands moved lower to undo his belt.

Draco moved his fingers and skilfully undid her bra with one hand and threw it somewhere on the floor behind him. He palmed her breasts, making Hermione moan at his touch. Draco slid his hand away from her breast and down towards her pantie line. He heard Hermione's breath hitch as his fingers slowly moved underneath the fabric and felt how wet she was. Hermione gasped as Draco's fingers found her center, slowlyrubbing it as their kisses became more urgent.

"Sweet Merlin!" she breathed, as Draco moved his lips to her neck. Draco still moved his fingers slowly, her breathing becoming erratic and her back arching. As Hermione started to feel a hot in her pelvis, Draco took his fingers away. Draco saw the look of confusion flit across her face as he kissed his way down her stomach. He undid her trousers and removed them and her panties, throwing them somewhere near her bra. "Draco I -" Hermione began to say, but abruptly stopped when she felt his tongue run the length of her slit. She threw her head back and gripped the bed sheets. She'd never done this before, it had always been her pleasing Ron and anytime she brought up him returning the favour, he just dismissed her. Pushing thoughts of Ron out of her head, she ran her fingers through Draco's hair. Hermione started to feel that hot sensation again in her pelvis.

Draco's erection was growing painful as he heard her moans grow louder and her fingers gripped his hair. He knew she wasn't going to last much longer before she would cum. He sped up his tongue on her clit, inserting two fingers into her dripping wet centre. Hermione let out a scream of pleasure, saying Draco's name over and over, her free hand squeezing her breasts, the other having a firm grip of Draco. Draco watched her entire being unravel when she came, he thought that it would have to be the single most sexiest thing he had ever seen.

During the minute it took her to come down from an incredible high, Draco had removed his trousers and crawled back on top of her, wiping his mouth and licking his fingers. Hermione panted, "You... That... Was fucking incredible." He smiled as she moved her hand down and wrapped her fingers around his erection. Draco closed his eyes and moaned. He moved so that he was hovering directly over Hermione, her legs bent and his cock lined up perfectly to her entrance.

Draco looked into her eyes. "You sure you want to do this?"

Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist, making his tip just touch her. "No Draco." She pulled his head closer and lightly bit his earlobe. "I need this."

That was all Draco needed to hear. His erection slipped between her wet folds slowly. Draco pulled out and pushed in slowly a few times before he was completely inside her. He moaned at her tight slick walls felt around his cock. If somebody burst into the room and killed him right now, Draco knew he would have died a happy man "Oh Merlin, Hermione," he moaned as his lips found hers again.

"Oh Draco." Hermione moaned breathlessly, "Draco, harder! Please!"

Hermione arched her back and rotated her hips, meeting his harder thrusts halfway. Hermione started to feel that same hot sensation in her pelvis again and started to moan louder and grab her breasts again. Draco knew he wasn't going to last much longer as he watched this beautiful creature underneath him writher around in pure ecstasy. "Hermione," he panted as he felt her walls start to clench.

"Draco I'm going to cum again!" she exclaimed. "Draco! Oh God Draco!"

"Fuck! Hermione!" he shouted, cuming inside of her as he thruster into her for the last time.

Draco kissed Hermione one last time before sliding out of her and rolling off. As he rolled, he managed to grip her and roll her onto her side so she had her head resting against him. "That was... That... Draco that..." Hermione stuttered.

Draco laughed. "Never did I think I'd see the day when I would make Hermione Granger lost for words." Hermione playfully swatted his chest, laughing knowing fully well that he was right. She smiled as she lightly traced her fingers over his chest as he played with her hair.

"So now what is this?" Hermione whispered, turning her head so she could look at him.

"Well after that my darling Granger," Draco said, playfully tapping the end of her nose. "I'd say this is a relationship, because after that, I'm certainly not letting you go."

Hermione looked away and smiled. Her head whipped back around when she felt his chest shake with laugher. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just something James said.

"And what what that?"

"He said that he thought you looked sad and that I should kiss you to make you happy again."

Hermione laughed too and leaned up to kiss him again. Well, James was right. She did feel happier after kissing Draco.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hi everyone. Chapter 5 is here! Let me know what you think xoxo**_

CHAPTER 5

Draco woke to Hermione's gentle breathing beside him. He carefully manoeuvred himself out of bed, as not to wake her. He slipped into some track pants, foregoing a shirt, and looked at the sleeping beauty in his bed. Her hair was splayed out all across the pillows and she was tangled up in the sheets. Draco smiled to himself as he tiptoed out of the room and quietly made his way down stairs into the kitchen.

As he was pulling bits and pieces out of the fridge for breakfast, Draco couldn't help but think of how different his life is. Just five years ago he was a seventeen year old boy, starting a life that he deep down didn't want to be apart of. Now he was almost 23, a successful prosecution lawyer, Harry Potter was his best friend and Hermione Granger was asleep in his bed.

"Good morning."

Draco turned around and saw Hermione walk into the room, wearing only the shirt she had taken off him last night. "Good morning." Draco said, pulling her closer and making her laugh.

Draco let her go and went back to making breakfast for the both of them while Hermione hopped up on to the counter. Hermione looked at him move about the kitchen, she couldn't think of the last time somebody had made her breakfast.

 _Hermione was moving frantically about the kitchen, trying to make Ron breakfast and leave the house on time. Why couldn't he step out of himself for one day? Just for today._

 _"Ron! Ron get down here!"_

 _Ron thumped down the stairs, still wearing his pyjamas. "What's with all the racket?"_

 _"Here. I've made you breakfast, now I'm off."_

 _"What? You're just going to leave me alone?"_

 _"Ronald, I have more important things to do than to babysit you." She snapped, putting her coat on._

 _"Oh come on." He said, rolling his eyes. "What's got your wand in a knot this morning?"_

 _"I'm burying my parents."_

 _Of course he wouldn't remember, it didn't affect him directly so it didn't matter to him. Hermione's parents had died in a car accident. When she had obliviated their memories and charmed them into thinking they were Monica and Wendell Wilkins, they booked a one way ticket to Australia. However, the roads were wet and the truck in front of them didn't have good brakes. They were ten minutes from Heathrow._

 _Hermione didn't say anything else and apparated to London to bury her parents, whose bodies had been magically preserved until the end of the war when she was able to say goodbye. Hermione had got up the morning of her parents funeral and taken care of somebody else. The same somebody else who should have taken care of her._

"Hermione are you alright?"

She hadn't realised that she had started crying. "It's nothing. I'm just being silly."

Draco walked over to Hermione and stood between her legs, he put one arm around her waist. He carefully wiped away her tears with his thumb, she smiled and held his hand to her face, kissing his palm.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For making me feel like I matter."

That simple sentence hit Draco at his core. He didn't think that what he was doing was that big of a deal, but looking at Hermione and her reaction, it seemed to matter a great deal to her. Draco knew that Ronald Weasley was essentially a child stuck in a mans body and needed someone to constantly look after him, it never occurred to Draco that Hermione needed somebody to take care of her now. Draco leaned in and kissed Hermione, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening their kiss. Draco's hand had moved from her face and had begun to unbutton his shirt she was wearing and the other hand had moved from her waist and to her thigh, slowly moving upwards. Draco's fingers lightly touched her centre, giving him a soft moan from Hermione when they heard a voice that wasn't supposed to be there.

"I really hope you're going to disinfect that counter top."

Harry Potter was standing in the middle of Draco's kitchen, a hand firmly slapped over his sons' eyes and his eyes closed tight with Ginny sitting smugly at the table. Hermione let out a small scream, pushed Draco away and ran upstairs to get dressed.

"Uncle Draco!" James yelled, pushing his Dad's hand away and wriggling down.

"Monster!" Draco said, holding his arms out so James could hug him. "How about we make Aunt Hermione some breakfast?"

"Yeah!" James said excitedly.

"Great timing Potter." Draco said, while Ginny was laughing at Harry pretending to throw up.

After breakfast, Hermione, Draco, Harry and James were off taking a walk around the park, Ginny saying she'll stay behind to clean up. Hermione and Harry were sitting on a bench watching Draco push James on the swing.

"So..." Harry said, not looking at Hermione.

Hermione felt herself blush. "Harry I know what you're going to say." Harry just raised his eyebrows at her, letting her continue. "You're going to say it's too soon to even contemplate being with someone else weeks after I left your best friend at the altar."

Harry shook his head at her. "No I wasn't." Now it was Hermione's turn to raise her eyebrows. "And you didn't leave my "best friend" at the altar, he left you." Hermione refused to look at Harry, she was playing with her fingers in her lap.

"Draco would be good for you."

"And how do you figure that?"

"He's not as big of a prat as he used to be." Harry explained, watching the man he was talking about play with his son. "James adores him and he's not Ron. Ron never deserved you."

"You know that's not true Harry."

Harry and Hermione whipped around to see Ron Weasley leaning against the fence behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Harry said, standing up to face his childhood best friend.

"I've come to see if Hermione has come to her senses yes."

Hermione didn't say anything about his remark, she just stood up and walked over to Draco who had stopped pushing James on the swing to watch what was going on. She could hear Harry and Ron starting to yell at each other, so she took James by the hand and started to walk him back to Draco's house. Draco followed Hermione, putting an arm around her protectively.

"What the fuck is this?!"

Hermione waved her hand and placed a silencing spell over James, he didn't need to hear whatever his Uncle was about to say. She saw Ron marching towards her, Harry yelling and trying to stop him. Hermione had had enough of Ronald Weasley. She pointed her wand at him, making him stop in his tracks. His eyes went wide as if he knew what she was about to say.

"Oppugno!"

For the second time in his life, Ron Weasley was running away from a flock of canaries. Hermione turned back around and led James away and back into the house. Draco stood there, open mouthed not really believing what he just saw. Harry clapped Draco on the shoulder.

"Let that be a lesson to you." Draco raised an eyebrow, not really sure what Harry meant. "Don't piss off Hermione Granger."

Draco and Harry laughed as they walked up the stairs, however it was short lived as they saw what was happening in Draco's living room. Ginny was kneeling on the floor, leaning against the coffee table with Hermione rubbing her back in gentle circles.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, sprinting over to his wife.

"The baby is coming."

Draco's eyes went wide. Babies were supposed to be born in hospital, not in his living room. Hermione obviously saw him standing there frozen. "Draco why don't you go get us some towels." She said, rubbing his arm. Draco practically ran up the stairs to get what Hermione asked him to.

Within the thirty seconds Draco was gone, Ginny had changed positions so she was lying on her back, leaning on Harry who was holding her hands and Hermione had braced herself facing Ginny, telling her to breathe and to push when she was ready. Draco walked over to the scene before him, he threw the towels down next to Hermione and moved slightly away, not really sure what to do.

"Draco!" Ginny panted.

"What? What is it?" Draco said worriedly, kneeling down next to his friends wife.

Ginny didn't say anything, she just grabbed his hand, and with Harry's in the other, she used them as leverage when she was pushing.

"Ok Ginny." Hermione said, looking at her friend, "one more push and the baby will be here! Ready? Push!"

As Ginny gave her last push, Draco saw Hermione smile at her friend, however the smile quickly disappeared. The room was too quiet. Hermione didn't panic though, she rubbed the baby down and placed him on Ginny's bare chest. Then suddenly, the loud cry came from the baby's tiny lungs, and everybody seemed to exhale a breathe none of them had realised they were holding.

"Congratulations." Hermione smiled, standing up. "You have a son."

Draco stood up too and followed Hermione into a bathroom. After she had washed her hands, he enveloped her into a hug.

"Do you want to go upstairs and get James?"

Draco nodded and let her go. He walked up the stairs and into the playroom he had built for James, seeing him playing in the centre of the room, completely oblivious to what just happened downstairs.

"James," Draco said, walking over and kneeling in front of the child. "There's somebody downstairs who wants to meet you."

James took Draco's hand as they went downstairs. Once he had full view of his mother and father with the baby, James ran over too see what the big fuss was. After carefully looking at his new baby brother, James looked up at his father.

"So does this mean we're not getting a broom?"

Later that night, once the four Potters had left and the house was tidied up, Draco found himself sitting with Hermione's head in his lap and playing with her hair, the television playing something mindless in the background.

"So today was pretty interesting."

Hermione giggled, "You did really well today."

"Yeah but you did better."

"I'll come with you to the Ministry tomorrow morning."

"How come?"

"Too see Kingsley about a job."

Draco smiled. He wasn't prepared to admit it to her, but it would be nice to see her around the Ministry, bossing people around. As Draco's mind wandered away with his thoughts of Hermione in the Ministry, he didn't even notice himself getting hard.

"Knut for your thoughts?"

Draco was snapped out of his daydream of things he and Hermione could do in his locked office to notice what she was smiling at. In one fluid movement Draco was standing up and having Hermione lead him upstairs.

"Remind me to do one thing Granger." Draco said, taking Hermione's shirt off.

"What's that?" She replied, making quick work of removing his belt.

"To remind Potter that he owes me a new rug."


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hi everybody! I'm so sorry for the delay. Things have been rather hectic and I've had pneumonia which put me in hospital for 2 weeks! Please forgive me absence! As always, leave reviews and tell me what you think. Much love xoxo_**

CHAPTER 6

Draco was looking over his paperwork, trying to decide which cases to keep and which ones were absolutely crazy. It was tedious work but he knew it had to be done now, otherwise he'd be buried underneath a mountain of manila folders. As he threw a case out regarding a wizard suing his neighbour for allegedly charming his flowers to be better looking than his own so it must be dark magic, there was a small knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Hermione entered, closing the door behind her. "Well hello." She smiled as she walked over and sat on the corner of his desk. "How's your day been?"

"Boring." Draco replied, running his hands through his hair. "But you are a welcome distraction. Now tell me, my dear Granger. Which department did Kingsley automatically make you head of?"

"Funny." Hermione said, rolling her eyes but still managing a small smile. "I'm actually second in the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

"And how long is that for?" Draco teased, squeezing her knee.

"Until the current head retires in two months." Hermione said, blushing slightly. Draco beamed at her, of course Kingsley would give her the top job, she is the smartest witch of the age after all. "So that means you had better be on your best behaviour Mister."

"And why is that?" Draco asked, giving her knee a small squeeze.

"Because, my dear Mister Malfoy," Hermione told him, "in a matter of months, I am going to be your superior."

Draco gave a small laugh, he hadn't realised that she would technically be the head of his floor. "Aren't you already?" he asked her. Draco had a thought while watching Hermione absentmindedly swing her legs, he hadn't yet taken her out on a proper date.

"Have we actually been out anywhere Granger?" Draco asked, just making sure he hasn't forgotten a time when they had.

"Unless you count meeting at that bar a couple of months ago, then no. I don't believe we have." Hermione said, moving off his desk and sitting on his lap.

"Well I think I should rectify that. Les go out for dinner tonight."

"Really?" Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up at his suggestion.

"Of course my darling." Draco replied, gently tapping the tip of her nose with his finger. "So let's get dressed up and allow me to escort you out this evening."

Hermione's face immediately lit up with a huge smile. She kissed Draco before hopping off his lap and leaving his office. Draco turned his chair back to his work, feeling like he was the luckiest man on the planet and there was nothing that could bring him down.

At three thirty, Draco decided that he'd had enough work for one day, after all, it was Friday and he had a date with the most brilliant witch of the age. He bid farewell to his receptionist, telling her to apologise for anybody looking for him and that as soon as she finished whatever task she was doing that she could go home early too, before apparating to Dragon Alley. As he walked down the streets, he noticed that a quite a few people would smile and nod their heads at him. A small act that he had not gotten used to.

 _As Draco walked down Dragon Alley, he forced himself not to notice the people shaking their heads at him or hurrying their children away like he had some contagious disease. His footsteps became slightly hurried, eager to get to his destination and away from people. Draco mentally berated himself for not simply sending an owl for his books, but he decided to man up and go himself. He needed to go out and do things rather than just send for them if he was to become a lawyer and change peoples perception of him._

 _He entered Flourish and Blotts and released a breath he hasn't realised he'd been holding. Draco moved swiftly throughout the shop, picking up various books on Wizarding Law that would probably be useful to him throughout his career. As he was examining the back of a book, he felt several pairs of eyes looking at him. They all probably thought he was researching legal ways to get those me knew out of Azkaban. Draco knew it was going to be a long while before people stopped looking at him with some form of hatred or disgust, but he wished that they would remember that he was only a boy back then._

 _Draco sneered at them as he made his way to the counter to pay for his selections. He didn't like sneering at people as he was aware just how much he looked like his Father when he did, but it seemed to be the easiest way to stop people from looking at him without using his wand. Who were they to judge him? Nobody had any idea of the choices and the sacrifices he had to make just to stay alive. Draco decided to use this experience as motivation. Motivation to change the way people thought of him, so they could see him for who he really is. Draco no longer wanted to be tarnished with the same brush as his Father. Lucius had done things far worse than Draco could ever had imagined. He wanted to bring some sort of light to the otherwise dark stains on the Malfoy name, he wanted, no, needed people to see a different side to him. Not just for their sales, but his own too, to see that he is something more than the son of the Death Eater who sat at the right hand of the Devil incarnate._

Draco had found himself standing out the front of a jewellery shop. As Draco entered the store, he thought that perhaps he would buy Hermione something. A small token to show her how he felt about her. He looked at rings, but decided that it was probably too soon to be looking at those and he didn't want to scare her off, then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the perfect piece. It was a necklace with a pendant that looked like it had been made for her. It was a single red rose petal with tiny diamonds all around the edges sitting on a long chain. Draco caught the attention of the assistant and motioned to what he wanted, feeling quite proud of himself that he had chosen the perfect gift for the perfect woman.

Hermione sat in front of her dresser mirror, putting the final touches on her makeup when she heard Draco yell at her from downstairs

"Hermione! For the love of Merlin are you ready? We're going to be late!"

She smiled as she examined herself in the mirror one las time before heading down the stairs.

"Alright alright! Keep your hair on." Hermione told him as she walked down the stairs. "I'm ready now. What do think?"

Hermione saw Draco staring at her with his mouth slightly open and blushed. She was wearing black strapless dress that fell to her knees and clung to her body in all of the right places. She wasn't wearing too much makeup, however, her bright red lipstick was just enough colour to make her outfit look perfect.

"Well?" Hermione said, putting her hands on her waist and smiling, "you were practically screaming at me to hurry up and now you're doing your best impression of a statue."

Draco stood up and walked towards her. "You look absolutely stunning." He smiled as he kissed her. "Shall we?" he motioned to the door as he offered her his arm.

Draco escorted Hermione around to the passenger side of the latest Rolls Royce Ghost and opened and closed the door for her. As he got in the car and started to drive away, Hermione realised that she had no idea where they were going. She nearly asked Draco, but figured that if he wanted her to know, he would have told her. As she started to admire the views of London, Hermione noticed Draco was turning to pull into Petrus, one of the best restaurants in London. As Hermione turned to ask Draco a question, he darted out of the car and came around to open her door.

As they walked to their table by the window, Hermione noticed people staring at them and began to feel a little self-conscious, she wasn't used to being this dressed up, nor being taken out to somewhere as lovely as this. As they sat down, Draco ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon and then extended his arm across the table, so he could hold her hand.

"Everything alright?" Draco asked, rubbing his thumb gently along her knuckles.

"Draco this is perfect." Hermione smiled, squeezing his hand. "Absolutely perfect."

At the end of their spectacular meal, Draco poured Hermione another glass of champagne and without a word, pulled the box containing the necklace out of his pocket and slid it across the table to her.

"What's this for?" Hermione asked, picking up the box.

"Nothing much." Draco told her, taking a sip of his water.

Hermione smiled at him as she opened the box. When she saw what was inside, her mouth dropped. The necklace was absolutely stunning, exactly the kind of thing she would wear. "Draco this is too much, I can't possibly accept it."

"Yes, you can." Draco told her. "It's just a small token to show my appreciation and admiration for you."

Hermione gave him a quizzical look, so he continued as he stood up and moved behind her so he could put her necklace on. "You gave me a chance. We've had little to no interaction since school, yet that day we crossed paths in that bar, you chose to trust me. You've been kind and thoughtful, especially that day I had to deal with my former friends. You're the only person I can feel relaxed around, like I'm not walking on eggshells around. So, my darling Granger, that's what this is for."

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. She honestly didn't think that how she was treating him was unusual because she was just being herself, but she now understood that here was a man who had been neglected of love, of real unconditional love, for most of his life. Here stood a man who needed her just as much as she needed him.

"Are you ready to go home?" Draco asked, pulling her chair out slightly.

Hermione nodded and followed Draco back to the car, thinking the whole drove home just how lucky she was. Just a couple of months ago she saw the supposed love of her life shagging somebody else. Now she had just had a romantic evening with the one person who she never imagined. In just a few short weeks, Hermione's life had changed so much that she could see why she stayed with someone who treated her so badly, after all, we accept the love we think we deserve, and she now saw that she deserved so much more than Ronald Weasley could have given her in any lifetime.

As they made their way inside, Draco grabbed Hermione around her waist and kissed her. Hermione started to blindly walk towards the stairs while stripping Draco of his jacket and making quick work of his tie. She had just undone all of his shirt buttons and Draco had just managed to unzip her dress when they were interrupted by somebody clearing their throat.

Draco and Hermione span around to see where the unexpected noise came from. There sitting in in Draco living room sat Draco's parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hi everybody! Now that I'm fully recovered and theres no more hospital visits, I'll get cracking on with the next chapter. This is the longest chapter I've written and I'm desperate to know what you all think, please please please leave a review! It would just make my day xoxo_**

CHAPTER 7

"What the FUCK are you two doing here?!" Draco yelled at his parents, hurriedly zipping Hermione's dress back up as to protect her modesty.

"Language Draco." Narcissa scolded. "We just thought we'd floo by and see how you were doing."

"At eleven thirty at night?"

The elder Malfoys looked at each other, silently daring the other to say the real reason for their unannounced visit. "Well, you see son –" Lucius began.

"Don't call me that!" Draco snarled at his Father. "You lost the right to call me that when I was eighteen."

"Well, you see _Draco_ " Lucius continued, slightly drawling his sons name, "your Mother and I had some rather unsettling news. News that you were seen cavorting around with a Mudblood."

Hermione visibly stiffened at Lucius' words, Mudblood was not a name she had been called since the War. She wasn't surprised by Lucius Malfoy referring to her as one, however it was Draco's reaction that surprised her the most.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" Draco yelled at his parents, his face turning a Weasley shade of red and his hands balled into fists. "I don't want to hear it. Get out!"

"But Draco! Mr Weasley was only looking out for your reputation!" Narcissa cried as Draco started to push them back towards the fireplace.

It was at Narcissa Malfoy's comment that Hermione finally found her voice. "Mr Weasley? As in Ron? Was it Ron Weasley who told you that I was with Draco?"

"Yes of course he did, you stupid girl." Lucius said with a hint of disgust in his voice, not looking at her. "Draco. Come."

"No."

Hermione watched, slightly stunned, as Draco moved away from his parents and came and stood next to her again, placing an arm around her shoulder protectively.

"Draco this is enough. Stop being foolish and think of the Malfoy name!" Lucius hissed at him.

"I am not being foolish and I am thinking of the Malfoy name." Draco said calmly, a little too calmly for Hermione's liking. "Listening to you and following your twisted views is what got us into that mess in the first place. A mess I have fought to crawl my way out of. A mess that's left you two hiding like cowards in France. The name Malfoy now means something. I now mean something and I won't let you ruin it again. Now, kindly get the fuck out of my house."

Draco watched as his Fathers face contort with anger that he wasn't controlling the situation, but Draco could have sworn he saw a brief flicker of a smile on his Mothers face. With a dramatic swish of his cloak, Lucius Malfoy spun around and strode into the fireplace with his wife dutifully following behind him and with one last look of contempt, the elder Malfoy's were gone.

"Well." Hermione said after a few moments of tense silence and moving away from Draco. "That's not how I pictured this evening ending."

"Hermione, I –" Draco began, taking a step towards her.

Hermione took a step back and held up one hand. "It's fine. I'll sleep in my room tonight. Goodnight Draco."

As Draco watched Hermione walk up the stairs, he could feel this deep bubbling anger in the pit of his stomach. He marched over to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and a bottle of Firewhiskey and poured himself a large glass. Just as he thought he had left his God awful past behind him, when he had done so much to help those responsible for heinous crimes stay behind bars, up pop his parents. They were nothing but a harsh reminder of the darkness where he came from and how his past will always be one step behind him, waiting to rear its ugly head.

Draco downed the Firewhiskey in one mouthful, his throat used to the harsh burn that always followed. He looked at the empty glass, thinking how aptly he was feeling right now. Empty. Then suddenly, with all lf his strength, Draco hurled the glass across the room where it shattered into thousands of pieces.

Hermione lay in bed, unable to sleep and listening to Draco stomp around downstairs. She was angry that Ron had told Draco's parents about her, but she was proud of Draco for standing up for himself and being his own man. Hermione didn't know why she chose to sleep alone, perhaps she was distancing herself from Draco in case he chose to leave her and reunite with his parents. A stupid thought, especially after his actions earlier tonight. She heard the sound of a glass shattering and jumped a little, she then heard him thunder upstairs and slam his bedroom door shut.

After what felt like an eternity, Hermione checked her clock, three AM. With no chance of sleep, Hermione mustered her courage and got out of bed. She quietly left her room and made her way upstairs to Draco's room. She crept over to his side of the bed, he was asleep and smelled like whiskey, his face was scrunched up with anger and his body appeared tense. Hermione moved over to the empty side of the bed and climbed in, hoping not to disturb him.

"You know, you're not as quiet as you think you are."

Hermione laughed a little as Draco rolled over to face her. "At least I tried."

"Hermione I'm –" Draco began, but he was cut off by Hermione pressing her fingers to his lips.

"No, let me speak." Hermione said softly. "Standing up for your beliefs is hard enough without having to defend them to your parents. You could have easily stayed the same boy you were seventeen but you have become a man with strong morals and you help those who need it the most. I can only imagine how difficult tonight was for you, your Father is one of the most intimidating men I know. I am so very proud of you Draco Malfoy."

Draco hadn't realised a couple of tears had escaped until Hermione's thumb brushed them away. This was the first time somebody he truly cared about told him they were proud of him. Draco knew he had done everything humanly possible in order for the wizarding world to see him as more than a follower of Lord Voldemort. Ron Weasleys actions had shown Draco the change in himself and just how far he had come. As Hermione pulled Draco closer so his head was resting on her chest, Draco could feel his heart swell and it was a this moment, he knew that he was in love with Hermione Granger.

Hermione woke to the sound of Draco climbing back into bed. Not quite ready to get out of bed herself, she pulled the blankets right over her head, enveloping herself in darkness once more. After the events of last night, Hermione felt like she would be quite content to spend all day in bed, preferably with Draco. Last night's fiasco proved to Hermione that she did the right thing by not marrying Ronald and that she was very lucky to find Draco that same night.

"Its eleven thirty Granger." Draco laughed, poking the lump that was Hermione. "Get up, the Potters will be here in an hour."

Hermione groaned and stubbornly pulled the blankets tighter around herself. She heard Draco laugh softly and get off the bed, then suddenly the light was blinding and she was suddenly cold. Draco had pulled the blankets off her with one mighty pull.

"Was that completely necessary?!" she screeched at him, as she sat up and watched him hurry out of the room. He only laughed at her, which was the only response she was expecting.

Hermione begrudgingly got out of bed and made her way over to her drawers. She had found that because she was practically spending every night in Draco's bed, it made little sense to keep walking downstairs to get her clothes. As she started to get dressed, she couldn't he but think of the first night Draco made her spend the entire night with him.

 _Hermione, once again, woke up in Draco's bed, this has become a nightly occurrence, but neither of them were complaining. She often woke up before Draco and crept back into her bedroom and then meet him downstairs later and they'd go to work together. Hermione didn't particularly enjoy going back to her room but she didn't want to disturb him and all of her clothes were downstairs. As she gently swung her legs out of bed, she felt Draco's hand reach out and grab her wrist._

 _"_ _And just where do you think you're going?"_

 _"_ _Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'm going back to my room."_

 _"_ _First, you didn't wake me, and second, no you're not going back to your room."_

 _Draco gently pulled her back into bed and under the warm blankets. Hermione settled herself with Draco's hand on her wrist still, rubbing it gently. She exhaled and rolled back over onto her side. After all, they did have sex nearly every night, so it made sense for them to spend the whole night together. When Hermione was at that point when she was just on the verge of sleep, when she felt Draco move over to her side of the bed. As he wrapped his arms around her, she turned over and buried her face in his chest. Draco kissed the top of her head and she smiled into his chest, listening to the calming sound of his heartbeat. Never before had someone held her like this, mover had she felt more treasured by someone that what she did right now. Hermione thought to herself that if Draco continued to make her feel this way, she would well be on her way to falling in love with him._

Hermione smiled at her memory as she walked down the stairs and into the living room. Draco had his feet resting on the coffee table as he was watching the news. Hermione smiled at the back of his head, he really was shaping up to be the perfect man for her. If somebody had told her in school that she would be romantically involved with Draco Malfoy, she would have marched them to the doors of St Mungos herself. She was just about to say something to him when the familiar whoosh of the floo announced the arrival of the Potters.

"Uncle Draco!" James screamed excitedly, "Aunt Hermione!"

"James!" Draco yelled back, matching his level of excitement.

Hermione sighed a little and swallowed what she was going to say to Draco. It would keep till later, after all, he didn't seem to be going anywhere.

* * *

As their afternoon went on, Hermione somehow managed to find herself alone with Harry, a rarity as he always seemed to have a little shadow. They sat at the kitchen table watching Draco and Ginny playing with the kids outside. Harry watched Draco with his eldest son and how natural be was with him.

"So how are you?" Hermione asked Harry, passing him a beer she had just got out of the fridge.

"Honestly, exhausted." Harry laughed. "Nah its alright, now that Al is sleeping through the night things are getting back to normal."

Hermione smiled at her oldest friend. They had come such a long way since they were eleven years old, although the dynamic of their group had changed, their relationship hadn't. They had been through too much for it to be any different.

"So…" Harry said, trying and failing to sound casual. "How's life with Draco?"

Hermione laughed at him, subtly was never his strong point. "Life with Draco is wonderful Mister Potter."

Harry laughed and reached across the table and grabbed her hand, Hermione smiled at him and squeezed his fingers. "I'm proud of you Hermione." Hermione looked at Harry curiously, wondering what made him say that. "I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen you like this."

"Like what?"

"Like you're not carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Draco is good for you."

Hermione smiled at Harry again, knowing he was right. Ever since that night she burnt her wedding dress she had felt this sense of relief, relief that she no longer had to be the strong one or the provider for someone else. She was able to do things and take care of herself. Although as their relationship progressed, Draco provided security and strength for her but he did not rely on her to do absolutely everything for him.

"He loves you, you know." Harry told her, taking a swig of his beer.

Hermione blushed at Harrys words. "I'm sure he cares about me a lot."

"No." Harry said, shaking his head. "Its more than that. Earlier he told me about last night and what happened with his parents. All I can say is that talking to him about it, its clear that the bloke loves you. He'll love you the way you need to be loved."

Hermione wiped away the tears that had dared to escape her eyes. "And since when did you know so much about love!"

"I wouldn't be here without it." Harry said, motioning to the scar on his forehead. "And I can speak for your parents in saying that they would approve of him."

Hermione just looked at Harry, her tears freely falling. Deep down she knew Harry was right, her parents would approve of this Draco. The Draco that helped her when she needed it the most. The Draco that stood up to his Father and defied his wishes. The same Draco who held her in his arms every night and took away all of her insecurities and hurt.

"This is it Hermione." Harry told her firmly, looking her straight in the eyes. "This is your chance. Take it."

Hermione stood up and hugged Harry. "When did you become so wise."

"Must have been all those years listening to you."

They both laughed as Draco, Ginny and the kids came back inside. James was fighting a losing battle against sleep, so the Potters decided to go, not before Ginny practically forced Hermione to celebrate her birthday next week at the Burrow with everybody.

* * *

Draco and Hermione were snuggled up on the sofa watching Singing in the Rain. Draco was absentmindedly playing with a strand of Hermione's hair and she was drawing circles on his stomach. "So are you going to tell me what Potter said that made you upset today?"

Hermione manoeuvred herself so that she was sitting on Draco's lap, straddling him so that she could look at his face. She wrapped her hands around his neck, playing with the hair on the back of his head as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "They were happy tears."

"You sure?"

"Yes." She told him. "We were just talking about my parents."

Draco felt his guilt hit him like a stone in his stomach. It was because of the people he was involved with that her parents died. This was the part of his old life that he hated the most, that he had some part in destroying not only her family but countless others.

"Harry was telling me," Hermione continued, "that right now is my chance to be happy and how my parents would want me to be. That they would want me to be happy with you."

Draco just looked at the woman sitting in his arms, thinking that she was the most singularly beautiful person inside and out. Draco was sure that he had done absolutely nothing in his life to deserve somebody like her. Hearing her say that her parents would want her to be happy with him, Draco silently promised himself that he would show her everyday that he deserved such praise from her.

"I love you Draco Malfoy."

Draco blinked at Hermione a few times, not quite believing what he just heard. "Really?"

Hermione laughed at him. "Yes, you fool. I love you."

Draco's face broke out into the biggest smile he had ever done. He pressed his forehead against hers, he was in utter shock that she could ever feel this way about him. "I love you Hermione."

Hermione moved her hands to cup Draco's face. Harry was right. He did love her and he was going to love her how she needed to be. Hermione leaned forward and kissed him softly. Their kiss was full of unspoken promises to one another, promises of a life filled with love. Draco stood up holding Hermione so that their kiss remained unbroken as he carried her upstairs to their bedroom. As he approached the door, he somehow managed to pull out his wand, and with a wave he conjured up tiny balls of light throughout the bedroom that gave off light as if the room was filled with candles.

Draco gently laid her down on the bed, finally breaking their kiss. He carefully removed her sweater and bra while she removed his shirt and belt. Each movement was gentle and careful, neither of them speaking. Draco leaned back down and lightly kissed her exposed collarbone, lightly trailing across one side to the other. He slowly kissed his way down to her breasts, each kiss increasing her heartbeat. Before Hermione had realised, Draco had removed the rest of her clothing and was softly kissing his way further and further down her body. She let out a soft gasp when she felt Draco's tongue against her wet centre, her hand reached down and laced her fingers in his hair.

Draco would hear Hermione moan as he licked up and down her clit. His erection grew harder as he continued to taste her sweet centre. He glanced up and saw her head thrown back and one hand lightly pinching her nipples. Hermione lightly pulled his head away and back up towards her, as she kissed him his erection grew painful as she kissed her juices off him. As he climbed on top of her, she used her feet to remove his trousers and boxers. Draco held himself over Hermione, his rock hard cock aching to be inside her.

Draco slid his erection in between her wet folds slowly. If he wasn't careful, this would all be over very quickly and he didn't want that. As Draco found himself completely inside of her, he couldn't help but let out a moan and how silky and warm her walls felt around him. "Merlin Hermione." He sighed as he slowly thrust inside of her.

"Oh Draco." Hermione whispered, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts. "I want you."

Without leaving her, Draco changed position so that they were both sitting upright. Gently rocking against each other they quickly found their rhythm. "You have me."

It was at Draco's words that Hermione crushed her mouth to his, her lips and tongue devouring his. Hermione began to feel a deep burning sensation inside her and she knew she wouldn't last much longer riding Draco.

"Draco I'm going to cum." Hermione panted, "Harder. Please God, harder."

At her request Draco leaned forward so she was once again underneath him. He felt himself let go and give into her request. He slid his cock all the way out of her and them rammed himself back in, eliciting a scream of ecstasy from her.

"Yes! Draco!" Hermione screamed, thrusting her hips to meet him half way.

"Hermione." He panted over and over again as he felt her clench around his cock.

Draco could see Hermione arch her back as her orgasm took hold. At the sight of her he felt himself cum inside her. As their orgasms subsided, Draco slowed his thrusts until they stopped. He gingerly supported himself on his elbows, still inside her warm entrance, both of them panting slightly. Draco smiled at Hermione and kissed her before sliding out of her and collapsing next to her. Still slightly breathless Hermione reached down and pulled a blanket over.

Hermione let out a content sigh as she started to drift off to sleep in Draco's arms. She felt Draco tighten his hold on her as he too fell asleep. Hermione thought to herself that Harry was right, Draco was her chance to be happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Hey guys. Thanks for your views and comments. So The Cursed Child has been released! Who else loved it?! Also, who else finds that you can work better when listening to a particular song? Lately I've been obsessed with Casadh an tSúgáin by The Gloaming – it's a beautiful Irish song, listen to it and let me know what you think! As usual, sound off in the comments for what you think of my fic or if you have any suggestions as to where this story should go. Love to you all xoxo_**

CHAPTER 8

If Draco asked Hermione one more time what she wanted for her birthday next week, she swore to him that she would rain down upon him a magnitude of hexed that would make his former Death Eater friends seem like First Years. Of course that didn't deter him, as he kept telling her that he was no longer afraid of her. She had figured that Draco would want to do something extravagant and most likely over the top for her, but she really didn't need it. He had already given her so much that there was simply nothing left for her to want. Hermione mulled over the piles of paperwork on her desk, the Quidditch World Cup was taking place in Britain again next year and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, had placed her in charge. She couldn't understand why, Hermione thought Quidditch was the most boring sport on the planet, along with cricket. At the moment she was on the phone to the head of the Russian Quidditch Federation, engaging in a shouting competition about whether or not the Russians were allowed to compete.

"You just don't like the fact that we can beat you!" the Russian man yelled.

"Are you insane?" the Hermione retorted. "Are you talking about after your players have consumed magical enhancements!"

Hermione had had enough of this man, he was trying to bully her into giving him what he wants, clearly he has never met Hermione Granger before. Rumours had been widely circulated for years that the Russians had given magical enhancers to their players. Although there was a slight chance that they were nothing more than rumours, but Hermione felt that the rumours were most likely true, and an example has to be made here.

"Listen." Hermione said, interrupting the slightly hysterical man. "Britain is hosting these games. At this stage I am going to deny the Russian teams entry. This matter will change if and when you can prove that no Russian player has consumed any form of magical enhancements over the last ten years, an exercise that is to be carried out by an independent team at St Mungos."

There was just silence on the end of the phone then the sound of the line being disconnected. Hermione rolled her eyes, sometimes there was just no arguing with stupid. She completed her paperwork and walked out of her office, heading towards Kingsley office to present him with her decision.

* * *

Draco sat in the Minister for Magic's office with Harry and Kingsley, not quite believing what he had just been told. It had to be some kind of a joke.

"Draco." Kingsley said gently. "Did you hear what I said?"

Draco nodded, not really sure what else he could do. As he opened his mouth to speak, there was a gentle knock at the door and Hermione appeared. He took one look at her and just felt himself crumble on the inside. Once she knew this there was no way they could continue their relationship. She smiled at him but he couldn't stand to be there any longer, he could feel his eyes burn with the threat of tears, so he stood up and ran out of the office.

Hermione looked at Harry and Kingsley, utterly bewildered by what had just happened. "Would somebody like to explain what that was all about?" she asked, folding her arms.

Harry looked between the Minister and Hermione, "I'd better go and check on Draco." He too quickly exited the room, making sure to skirt around Hermione.

"Hermione before you say anything," Kingsley said, cutting off Hermione before she had the chance to ask him anything. "Know that Draco needs some time to process what has happened." He motioned for Hermione to sit down.

She sat down in the chair opposite him, her heart thumping at what felt like one hundred miles an hour. What on earth could be that bad that Draco has to run from the office like that.

"Somebody had a threat made against him."

If Hermione was completely honest, she wasn't surprised. There was a small group of wizards and witches out there that felt like Draco had escaped the War unpunished, and at the same time, there were groups of wizards and witches who felt like Draco had unjustly punished their loved ones, that he had no right to turn his back on them and his old life. There was nothing that Kingsley Shacklebolt could say that would surprise her.

"His Father, along with a former friend of Draco's, Theodore Nott, threatened your life unless he abandoned his life and return to his former life."

Except for that. That surprised her. Hermione did think that Lucius has given up too easily that time in Draco's house. Hermione was suddenly filled with sadness for Draco. Sadness that his Father refused to see that for the first time in his life that his son was happy. Sadness that once again, his past had made an unwelcome visit when he appeared to be at his happiest.

"So what is going to happen?" Hermione asked, knowing that Draco would need to know at a later date.

"Well Mr Malfoy and Mr Nott have been arrested." Kingsley said, leaning forward on his desk. "They'll be tried and most likely sentenced to Azkaban for possession of Dark Artefacts and threats towards a Ministry staff member."

"Right." Hermione said, standing. "Here are the reports on Russias entry to the Quidditch World Cup detailing my reasons for rejection. If you don't mind Minister, I think I'll go home early today."

Kingsley nodded and took the papers off her. As Hermione was about to leave his office, he told her something else. "It was his Mother."

"Pardon?" Hermione said, turning around to face him.

"It was Narcissa Malfoy who came to Mr Potter and told him everything that what was going to happen."

Hermione wasn't sure what to think of that. Narcissa Malfoy had betrayed her husband, she had betrayed him for the love of her only son. After all, she had betrayed Lord Voldemort during the War, so betraying Lucius' plans would have been easier for her. Hermione would dare say it out loud, but she did feel a little bit of pride at the elder Malfoy woman. After all, it takes a great deal to stand up to those you love. With a final goodbye to the Minister, Hermione left his office in search for Draco.

* * *

Draco apparated back home, needing to get out of the Ministry and back to somewhere he felt safe. Draco couldn't stop the angry tears that spilled out of his eyes, his hands were pulling at his hair as he paced up and down the living room. Why did this keep happening to him? Ever since he had began a relationship with Hermione, there always seemed to be something waiting around the corner to destroy it. First Ron and now his Father. Draco heard the sound of someone apparating into his house, he pulled out his wand and turned around, only to be greeted by Harry Potter.

"Hey!" Harry said, putting his hands up a little, "come on mate, put your wand down."

"Why can't my past stay dead?" Draco asked through gritted teeth, lowering his wand as Harry walked towards him.

"I dunno, but don't let this feeling consume you, you've come too far." Harry told him.

"My Father is never going to stop." Draco said, collapsing onto the sofa.

"Of course he is. He's got no choice. You're your own man."

"What if she leaves?"

At this Harry couldn't help but let out a little snort, "Clearly you don't know Hermione Granger as well as you think you do. If you think she's going to let this come between you then you're wrong."

Draco didn't say anything. He wouldn't begrudge her if she did leave him, what person in their right mind would get involved with someone whose family had just made death threats against them on top of the fact that the same family tortured her in their home.

"You can't think about what happened in the Manor." Harry told him sternly, almost like he was reading his mind. "If Hermione couldn't move past that then you guys wouldn't be together now. Nothing happened, she's safe. Don't let Lucius ruin this for you too."

Hermione apparated into the kitchen and called out for Draco. Harry clapped Draco ok the back and gave him one last reassurance that everything would be fine before meeting her in the doorway.

"You alright?" he asked her, giving her arm a light squeeze.

"I'm fine." Hermione said, giving Harry a hug. "Thanks for this."

"You two would do the same for me." Harry told her, before disapparating, leaving Hermione and Draco alone to sort things out.

Hermione walked over to Draco and knelt in front of him. He looked awful, his hair was sticking up in all places and his face was blotchy. She took his hands in hers and rubbed small circles with her thumbs, trying to calm him down.

"Hermione. I'm sorry." He whispered, not looking at her, his head hung in shame.

Hermione's eyes instantly filled with tears, she had seen many sides of Draco Malfoy, but she had never seen this side of him. He appeared broken and defeated by todays events, like this was the final straw for him. She gentle put her hand under his chin and forced him to look at her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Draco Malfoy."

"It was my Father that threatened to murder you."

"But it was your Mother that stopped anything from happening."

Draco looked confused, it was obvious Kingsley hadn't reached that point in their conversation. "It was your Mother who told Harry everything. She stopped this. Your Mother loves you and wants you to be a happy and free man."

Draco couldn't believe what he just heard. Obviously he knew of his Mothers deception in the War in her efforts to find him, but he never would have guessed she would want him to be happy with Hermione.

"Are you going to leave?" Draco asked her, mentally preparing himself for whatever her answer would be.

"Do you want me to?" she retorted.

"No." Draco admitted straight away.

"Then I'm not going to, although I never was." Hermione smiled, wiping his face. Draco smiled back, she really was an incredible woman.

Hermione stood up and pulled him upright. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Draco asked, letting her lead him upstairs.

"You're going to have a relaxing hot bath and then a nap."

When they reached their bedroom she released his hand and went into the ensuite and began to run a bath, leaving him to undress. Draco stripped off to his boxers and entered the bathroom where he found Hermione with her trousers off, wearing just her underwear and a t-shirt and sitting on the edge of the bath with her feet in the water.

"Get in." she told him, motioning to the water.

Draco did as he was told and got in the water, it was hot and filled with some of her smelly aromatherapy oils. Hermione picked up a washcloth and began washing him, occasionally kissing the top of his head or the back of his neck. With each movement of Hermione's cloth and the hot water running over his body, Draco could feel the anger and tension leave his body. It dawned on his just how intimate this action was, he was at his most vulnerable, and even though she had every reason to leave, she was here taking care of him. He had never been close enough to anybody to let them see him this unguarded.

After Draco had got out of the bath, he had found that Hermione had blacked out their bedroom and was waiting on the bed for him. Deciding to forgo getting dressed, Draco climbed into bed, forgoing his pyjamas and pulled Hermione into his arms.

"Thank you." He said, kissing on her lips.

Their kiss deepened, Draco feeling the need to touch every inch of Hermione, almost as if to memorise her in case she did leave. Hermione crawled on top of him and started to kiss his neck as he removed her shirt. Hermione softly kissed her way down Draco's well sculpted body and Draco could feel himself harden with each kiss.

"Oh fuck!" he groaned when he felt her lips wrap around the head of his cock.

Draco groaned as he felt her hand wrap around the base of his shaft and his hips bucked slightly. As her hand began to slowly pump up and down she began to take as much of him in her mouth as she could, her lips and hand finding a steady rhythm. Draco's eyes watched her as she continued to swallow his cock and his hand reached down into her hair, lightly guiding her head. Hermione looked up and saw his eyes firmly on her, so she decided to pick up her pace.

"Merlin Hermione." Draco said through gritted teeth.

Draco watched as Hermione took her spare hand and placed in between her legs and start touching herself. The sight of Hermione touching herself while sucking his cock was, in Draco's opinion, the hottest thing he had ever seen. Draco gently pulled Hermione's lips away from his shaft and pulled her up and removing her underwear.

"I need you." He said, as she positioned herself over him.

"I'm all yours." She whispered as she slowly impaled herself on him.

Draco grabbed her hips as she started to rotate, with each sharp intake of breath, Draco watched as she squeezed her breasts. Draco could feel Hermione start to clench around him, knowing that he wasn't going to last much longer either, he started thrusting harder into her. At her screams of his name, Draco felt himself spilling into her, gripping onto her hips. Exhausted, Hermione collapsed onto him, using wandless magic, Hermione summoned a blanket for them.

"Love you." Draco whispered to her, wrapping his arms around her and spooning her from behind.

"Love you." Hermione whispered back, wrapping her arms around his.

* * *

Hermione woke up wishing that today was over already, it was just her birthday, there was nothing special about turning twenty four. As she stretched, a very small part of her was curious as to how today was going to compare to other years.

 _It was six o'clock and Hermione was sitting by herself, waiting for Ron to get home so he could take her out for her birthday like he said he would. She had already turned down an invitation from Harry and Ginny to celebrate, a decision she was coming to regret, but she was still hopeful that Ron would walk through the door any second. Sick of waiting, Hermione poured herself a glass of wine and opened Hogwarts, A History, a book she knew off by heart but never got tired of reading._

 _Two hours later Ron barged through the door. "Hermione. I'm home."_

 _He walked over to her and planted a big kiss on her lips, she could taste Firewhiskey. He pushed a small bunch of flowers at her and mumbled a happy birthday to her as he gave her a gift. Hermione's eyes lit up, he usually forgot to get her something for her birthday, as she opened it her shoulders dropped in disappointment. He had bought her a box of various smelly candles. Perhaps it was a joke, but when she looked at his face, like he was proud of his purchase, Hermione knew it wasn't._

 _Hermione plastered a smile on her face and gushed at how wonderful they were and that they were exactly what she wanted. As they headed out to the little pub down the end of their street, Hermione silently reassured that next year, Ron was bound to get it right._

As she broke her train of thought, Draco burst through the door, levitating a breakfast tray and some parcels all wrapped up.

"Happy Birthday love." He said, giving her a kiss and placing the items down in front of her.

"Thank you, but this is too much." Hermione scolded him with a smile.

"You should see what I had originally planned before Ginny put a stop to it." Draco laughed, settling himself in bed next to her.

Hermione smiled at him as she unwrapped her gifts. He had bought her a stunning white sting dress that was cinched in at the waist with an A-line skirt, a first edition of Cinderella, her favourite fairy-tale and a ring. The ring had a red stone in the middle and was surrounded with a ring of diamonds then a ring of emeralds, giving it the appearance of a blossom.

"Draco this is really too much." Hermione said, when she opened the ring.

"It really not." He said, taking the ring out of the box and placing it on her right hand ring finger. "See its us. Red is you, the Gryffindor and Green is me, the Slytherin."

"Who knew you were so sentimental." Hermione laughed, holding her hand out to examine her new ring.

Draco laughed and lay flat on his back. "Yeah well don't tell anyone. I am still a Malfoy."

"Your secret is safe with me." She said, leaning over to kiss him. "Thank you for everything, it's wonderful."

"Right." Draco said, getting up and selecting his clothes. "Come downstairs whenever you're ready then we'll head off."

As he left her to go to the bathroom, Hermione smiled her herself. It seems like this year was already shaping up to be better than last year.

* * *

Hermione found herself at the Burrow surrounded by all, bar one, of the Weasley's and the Potter's. There was lots of food, wine and laughter, what Hermione thought to be the perfect way to celebrate her birthday. Of course she was spoilt by her surrogate family, Mrs Weasley had knitted her a scarf and hat for the approaching winter months, Bill and Fleur had given her a gold bangle, Charlie had sent her an ornate glass vase that had been made using Dragon fire, Percy had given her a brand new quill and self-refilling ink pot and Harry and Ginny gave her a complete set of monogrammed stationary and office supplies.

"Aunt Hermione look at my present!" James exclaimed, waving to get her attention.

Hermione opened a big envelope from James. He had drawn her a picture of them along with Harry, Ginny, Albus and Draco. Ginny had charmed it so that the drawings moved freely around the paper.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his eyes full of hope.

"James I love it!" Hermione praised, "Wed' re going to hang it straight on the wall when we get home."

James' face broke out into the biggest smile. "Told you she'd like it Dad."

"You did buddy." Harry smiled at his son.

Hermione settled against Draco as he wrapped an arm around her. She honestly didn't think her life could get any better. Here she was surrounded by people who should have been her family by marriage, but still loved her like family and she was in love with the one person she never imagined.

"Uncle Draco, are you going to marry Aunt Hermione?" James asked innocently, tucking into his cake.

Everybody around the table laughed. Ginny gave her eldest a disapproving look. "James."

"One day I will Monster." Draco laughed, giving James' hair a ruffle.

* * *

At the end of the night when Hermione was saying her goodbyes to everybody, Mrs Weasley pulled her aside.

"Hermione dear." She said, giving her cheeks a gentle pat. "Don't be such a stranger."

"I thought you'd be upset with me." Hermione admitted.

"We'd never be mad at you." Mrs Weasley assured her. "You've found yourself a good man over there."

"I have." Hermione smiled, looking over at Draco who was organising a boys day out, "thank you for everything Molly."

The two women hugged one last time before they rejoined the group. With promises of boys days out and spa days for the women, Hermione and Draco made their leave and disapparated back home.

"Thank you for a lovely day." Hermione said, walking up to bed.

"You're welcome." Draco said, removing his clothes and getting into bed. "I have one more present for you."

Hermione looked confused as he summoned a present from his dresser and handed it to her. She carefully opened it, not quite sure what to expect. When she pulled back the paper her eyes immediately filled with tears. Draco has given her a photograph of her parents, except this was a wizard photo, so they were waving and smiling at her.

"How on earth did you get this?" she asked, lightly toughing the glass of the frame.

"I asked Harry if he had any pictures of your parents." Draco explained, gently rubbing the small of her back. "He gave me this. He said something about taking it last time you all were in Dragon Alley together but what with everything that happened, he forgot about it."

Hermione looked at her parents, it had been so long since she looked at a photograph of them because it still hurt her how they died.

"Hermione," Draco said softly, taking her hands in his, "I only saw your parents a couple of times and we both know I was a little bastard back then." Hermione laughed and nodded in agreement. "But," Draco continued, "I am going to spend every day proving to you that I am worthy of being with you and that they'll never be forgotten."

Hermione smiled at Draco, the picture of her parents and his promise were the best gifts she has ever received. She waved her wand an extinguished the lights before curling up next to Draco where he began to lightly trace circles soothingly across her back.

Draco's mind kept returning to James' question, was he going to one day marry Hermione. Draco knew that there was no chance of him ever letting Hermione go, he simply loved her too much. The more Draco thought about it, the more certain he became that one day he would like Hermione to share his name, and who knew, maybe even have a family with him. A future he had long abandoned for himself until she had unexpectedly re-entered his life.

"I was serious, you know." Draco said softly.

"About what?" Hermione asked, half asleep.

"About what James asked, one day I will marry you Hermione Granger."

Hermione said nothing, she just smiled and held onto Draco a little bit tighter. She knew that he was being absolutely serious. Hermione sometimes wondered if she could get married or if her previous experience had scared her off the idea for life, but as she listened to the heartbeat of the man who loved her unconditionally, she knew that the life she and he parents had always wanted was right here in front of her.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Hello loves! So I finally saw Me Before You, who else cried at the end? Thanks for all the views, must mean I'm doing something right if you keep coming back! Not really sure how/if I should continue this story, I'm at a crossroad. As usual comment and let me know what you think xoxo_**

CHAPTER 9

Hermione had been in a foul mood and Draco couldn't figure out why. She had been distant all week, going to work before he got up and coming home just as he was going to bed. Draco wondered if organising the Quidditch World Cup was starting to overwhelm her, but he knew how she became when she was overwhelmed, it seemed to Draco that she was either avoiding him or avoiding something else. By the end of the week, Draco had decided that he'd had enough of not getting any answers, if she wasn't going to give him any answers, then he'd go to someone who would. Rather than spend his lunch hour in his office, Draco apparated to the Potters to see if Ginny could help him.

"Hello?" Draco called out, waiting for Ginny or James to appear.

"Shush!" Ginny whispered frantically, "I've only just put them both down for their naps."

"Sorry." Draco said, following her to the kitchen.

"Its strange to see you here." Ginny said, waving her wand to summon over two cups of tea.

"Yeah I know." Draco replied, taking a sip of his tea. "I need your help Gin."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, so Draco took that as his cue to continue. "Its Hermione. Something is wrong and she's refusing to say what it is. She's working stupid hours so we don't see each other and when we do, everything is so tense."

Draco saw Ginnys face drop, he was right, there was something she wasn't telling him.

"It's her parents anniversary on Sunday."

Of course, how could he forget. He knew it would be coming up but he couldn't remember when it exactly it was. Draco was a little annoyed that she didn't feel like she could talk to him about her parents. Maybe a small part of her blames him for once being associated with those responsible for their deaths.

Almost as if she could read his mind, Ginny answered his internal conflict. "She doesn't blame or resent you. This is just how she's has to be since it happened. My dolt of a brother was never there for her, so she found ways to cope."

"I'm not him." Draco said.

"And she knows that." Ginny said, giving Draco's had a slight pat, "but she doesn't know any other way to cope."

"So what do I do?" Draco asked, sounding slightly desperate.

Ginny thought about it for a second before answering him. "If it was me, I'd hex it out of her."

"But she's better at magic than all of us combined." Draco laughed.

"True." Ginny laughed. "Then you force her to talk about it. Does she have any pictures of them around the place?"

"Aside from the one by the bed, no."

"Get her to put them up." Ginny encouraged. "Maybe if she looked at them more often, things will get easier for her."

Draco nodded and stood up. "You know that if I force her to do something she doesn't want to do, she'll probably punch me again."

"I'm sure you can be pretty persuasive when you want to be Mr. Malfoy." Ginny laughed. "Now get back to work, I have a precious couple of hours alone right now."

With a mock salute and a kiss on the cheek, Draco left the Potters, mentally preparing himself for whatever happens when he gets home.

* * *

"Come in." Hermione said shortly, addressing the knock at her office door.

"Hey." Harry said softly, entering the room. "How are you?"

"Fine." Hermione replied shortly, not looking up from her work.

"Hermione." Harry said sternly, sitting in the chair opposite her. Of course he would know the reason why she was in this mood.

Hermione slammed her quill down and looked at Harry, tears starting to form. "What Harry?"

Harry didn't say anything, he just looked her. Hermione felt her walls drop as Harry continued to stare at her with his emerald eyes and she hung her head. She knew she had been unbearable all week and she had been ignoring any attempt made by Draco to get to the bottom of her mood. She heard Harry get up and move towards her, where he pulled her out of her seat and enveloped her in a hug. Hermione wrapped her arm around Harry, the only other person who knew how she would be feeling right now.

"Talk Hermione." Harry said, rubbing her back gently. "Things don't get better unless you talk about them.

Hermione knew Harry was right, if she let Draco in then her pain wouldn't be so bad. At the same time though, Hermione had become so used to being alone on her parents anniversary, that she didn't know if she _could_ let him in. Hermione broke away from Harry and wiped her face of any loose tears.

"You seem to be giving me a lot of advice lately. Is something wrong with you?" She laughed at him.

"Yeah, well what are brothers for." Harry laughed, making his way out of her office. "Although maybe you're right. I might have a brain tumour."

* * *

It was seven o'clock and Hermione still wasn't home. Not that Draco was surprised, she had been coming home closer to eleven all week. Not in the mood for cooking for one, Draco pulled out a pizza from the freezer and put it in the oven before grabbing a beer from the fridge. He had no clue how he was going to get Hermione to talk about her parents. Draco felt a little sick at the thought of his past life, the choices he made and the plans he was a part of had robbed her of any chance of seeing them again. Draco would do anything humanly possible to ease her, but how could he help someone who refused to let him?

Draco pulled the pizza out of the oven and cut it into rough slices, when he heard Hermione apparate into the hallway. Surprised that she was home, Draco divided the pizza between two plates and took a swig of his beer as he waited for her to appear.

"Hello." Hermione said, letting her hair out of her ponytail.

"Hello." Draco replied, pushing her plate towards her.

The two of them ate in silence on opposite sides of the kitchen, both silently willing the other to speak first. Having had enough of the tension, Draco summoned up all of his courage and broke the silence.

"I'm sorry."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, not quite sure what he was apologising for. "I'm sorry for not realising what this week means for you."

Hermione pushed her plate away and looked down at her fingers. "Who told you?"

"Ginny." Draco said, taking another sip of beer. "I saw her earlier today."

Hermione felt ashamed of herself. She knew that Draco would support her and take care of her, but she couldn't help pushing him away. She has become so used to supporting herself that she didn't know how to let Draco in.

"This is just how it is." Hermione told him. "You and Ron –"

"Don't compare me to him." Draco said through gritted teeth, folding his arms over his chest.

"You have no idea what I'm going through!" Hermione shouted at him, slapping her hands on the countertop.

"Because you're not telling me!" Draco yelled back.

"Its been years and it hasn't gotten any easier!" She yelled as her emotional floodgates opened, tears shining in her eyes. "My heart feels like its still breaking and my soul hurts. I did everything I could think of to keep them safe and it still wasn't enough! They still died. I would happily give up magic for the rest of my life if it meant that I could have just one more day with them. "

Draco listened as Hermione began to unravel. He could see that she had been bottling up her feelings and if screaming and shouting at him was the best way for her to unburden, then he would stand there and listen to everything she has to say.

"It hurts so much." She whispered, touching her heart. "I was eighteen and burying my parents. Hadn't I been punished enough during the War? Ron of course was nowhere to be seen that day. I sat at their graves all night, praying that there had been a mistake. That my parents hadn't left me. myself for hating them. I hate myself for erasing their memories, for wiping out our life together. I hate that I can't fix myself. What is the point of having magic I don't expect you to do anything, I'm able to take care of myself."

Draco felt his heart break as he watched Hermione fall to pieces. She had been holding herself together for so long, she couldn't let him help her. Draco walked over to Hermione and placed his hands on her shoulders, crying women weren't really his forte, but he'd do anything to stop her tears. He did the only thing he could think of, he walked around to face her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, one around her waist and the other stroking her hair in a soothing manner. It was hard for Draco not to shed a few tears himself as he felt Hermione grab his shirt and cling to it for dear life as she cried against his chest and let out gut wrenching sobs. As she cried her heart and soul out on his chest, Draco cursed Ron Weasley, not that he needed another reason to despise the tosser. If he had had any sort emotional capability to take care of anybody else, then Hermione probably wouldn't have supressed her grief and hurt about her parents.

After a time, Hermione's sobs subsided to a few sniffles. Draco let go of her and moved his hands to cup her face and wish his thumbs, he gently wiped away her tears. Hermione wrapped her hand around one of his and kissed his palm.

"I'm sorry."

"The only thing you've got to be sorry for is not letting me help you sooner." Draco told her, shaking his head slightly. "Now there is one thing you can do for me, my dear Granger."

"And what is that?" Hermione asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You've been living here for a few months now and all of your pictures are stored away." Draco began, "when you're ready, put them up. Wherever you want."

"You mean it?" Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Course." He smiled, "you live here too."

Hermione look at Draco and smiled. "I love you Draco."

Draco lightly kissed the tip, of her nose, "I love you too Granger."

* * *

Hermione was downstairs working, her hair tied up in a messy bun and her notes spread all over the table. Draco had left the house for a few hours to give her some quiet while she worked. Organising this damn Quidditch World Cup would surely be the death of her. Now that all the participating countries has qualified, Hermione was revising the schedule of matches and devising a manual for deterring muggle and security for the games. Hermione couldn't help but think back to the last Quidditch World Cup she participated in, the one where Barry Crouch Jr had set off the Dark Mark. Although there was zero chance of that happening again, Hermione still included a chapter on security against Dark magic. As she put her quill down and stretched, she heard the sound of someone apparating behind her. Turning around, she expected to see Draco, however she was certainly surprised to see Narcissa Malfoy standing behind her.

"Mrs Malfoy." Hermione said, quickly standing up to face the woman. "What a surprise."

"I'm sorry to intrude." Narcissa said, looking around the empty space. "I was hoping to see Draco."

"He's popped out for a few hours while I get some work done." Hermione explained.

"Oh dear." Narcissa sighed. "I'll just come by another day."

"Please stay. He shouldn't be too much longer." Hermione told the elder woman. "Would you like some tea?"

"That would be lovely."

With a wave of her wand, Hermione summoned a pot of tea from the kitchen as she guided Narcissa to the living room. It was only as Hermione sat opposite Draco's mother did she realise that her choice of wardrobe probably wasn't suitable, leggings, mismatched socks and one of Draco's old Quidditch shirts shrunk down. At least it wasn't Gryffindor colours, Hermione thought to herself. The two women sat in silence drinking their tea, neither knowing what to say to one another.

"Miss Granger." Narcissa began, placing her teacup down on the table.

"Please call me Hermione." Hermione said quickly.

"Hermione." Narcissa continued. "I just wanted to see how Draco is after the incident with his father."

"Honestly?" Hermione asked, and with a nod from the woman sitting opposite her, she continued. "He wasn't good. All Lucius did was remind Draco that his old life is never far behind him. He's come along way and you should be proud of him."

"I am." Narcissa told Hermione. "You do know that I never would have let my husband do anything else to destroy my son?"

Hermione smiled at her. It was clear that Narcissa loved her son, otherwise she wouldn't have spoiled her husbands' plans. As Hermione poured Narcissa another cup of tea, she heard Draco come through the front door. She noticed that his mother tensed slightly and sit up in her chair a bit straighter.

"Hermione?" they heard Draco call out.

"In here." Hermione called back, giving Narcissa a small encouraging smile.

Draco entered the room, holding a big bunch of white roses. He walked straight over to Hermione, not even noticing that his mother was in the room. As he leaned down to kiss her, Hermione pushed him away and motioned in their guests direction.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, a little too harshly in Hermione's opinion.

"Your mother is here to talk to you." She told him, taking the roses off him and walking out of the room. "Now sit down and listen."

Hermione watched as Draco sat opposite his mother, folding his arms over his chest like a child. She rolled her eyes at his behaviour and magically locked them in the room figuring that if he couldn't escape, then Draco would have to listen.

* * *

Draco sat glaring at his mother, he knew it would be no use trying to storm out as he figured Hermione had done something to keep him in here. It was obvious that his mother was just as uncomfortable as he was, her eyes were looking at everything in the room except him and she was nervously playing with her fingers.

"What are you doing here?" Draco spat, sounding a little harsher than he meant to.

Narcissa jumped slightly at the way her son addressed her. "I just wanted to see how you are."

"Well I'm fine." Draco snapped, "you can go now."

Narcissa hung her head slightly. Draco knew he was being unreasonable, but its jard to forgive someone who was a participant in almost ruining your life. As Draco thought about it, yes his mother went along with whatever his father commanded, but she also stood up and saved him when it mattered the most. The longer he stared at his mother, the more guilty he started to feel and he was reminded of something Hermione told him a couple of weeks ago.

 _After her explosion of emotions, Hermione decided to go and visit her parents graves for the first time in a long time. Draco held her hand as they walked through the cemetery, out of the corner of his eye he saw two gravestones that read POTTER. Draco let go of Hermione's hand and stood back a little as she knelt at her parents graves._

 _He listened to her as she poured her heart out to the silence. She told her parents of Ron Weasley and how disastrous her wedding was, how she had managed to get herself a job in the Ministry of Magic and how she helped Harry deliver his second son. What surprised Draco most of all, was how she told hr parents about him. How he was the one person who she never thought would help her, but became her greatest support. If he was honest, he felt a little embarrassed for Hermione to had helped him just as much as he helped her._

 _When she was done, Hermione stood back up, kissed her hands and placed it gently on their headstones with a promise that she'll be back. Draco wrapped his arm around her as they made their way out of the cemetery and back to their apparition point._

 _"_ _You did good." Draco told her, giving her a kiss on her head._

 _"_ _Thanks." Hermione replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Draco, have you thought about speaking to your mother?"_

 _Draco tensed a little at her questions. "No. She made her choice and I've made mine."_

 _"_ _You do remember that she was the one who informed Kingsley about what your father was planning."_

 _Draco was silent. He hadn't forgotten that, but for Draco it was a reminder how his mother had chosen to stay with his father, despite everything he put them through when Draco was growing up. It was a choice his mother made that he just couldn't understand._

 _"_ _It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."_

 _Draco stopped walking and looked at Hermione, jowl quite sure what she meant by saying this._

 _"_ _You have the ability to completely cut your family out of your life completely," Hermione told him, taking his hands in hers. "But you have the choice to allow your mother the chance to redeem herself."_

 _With a gentle pull of his hands, Hermione and Draco started walking again. Draco knew Hermione was right, his mother was nowhere near as bad as his father and after listening to her talkntonher parents, he realised that he needed to move forward otherwise he would always have this link to the past._

 _"_ _Hey Hermione," Draco asked as they reached their apparition point, "who said that?"_

 _Hermione grinned slightly. "Albus Dumbledore."_

Of course Dumbledore would still be influencing his life, Draco thought. He stood up and knelt in front of his mother and took her hands in his. "Mother, Indent want to be like this anymore. I want us to have a functioning relationship. I can count the amount of times I've seen you in the past five years on one hand."

"I want that too Draco." Narcissa said, smiling at her son.

"I'm finally happy mother." Draft told her. "It has taken me years to get here, but immfinally happy with who I am."

"And who you're with." Narcissa smiled, nodding her head towards the door.

"She is a big part of my life right now." Draco told her, "and I want you to be too."

"Nothing would make me happier son." Narcissa said, giving him the biggest hug she had ever given him.

By the time Hermione decided to check on the two Malfoy's, she had completed her work and the sun was starting to set. When she opened the door, she was Draco giving his mother a hug.

"Ah Hermione dear." Narcissa said, spotting her in the doorway. "Thankyou."

"You are more than welcome." Hermione smiled, moving over to stand next to Draco. "And please, don't be a stranger."

It was obvious to both Draco and Hermione that Narcissa's eyes lit up at Hermione's words. With one final smile, Narcissa apparated home.

"Thank you for locking me in a room and forcing me to talk to my mother." Draco laughed as he gave Hermione a kiss.

"You're welcome." Hermione grinned. "Now that you've made up with your mother, at least our children will have one grandparent."

Draco stared blankly at her. They'd never spoken about their future let alone having children. In a fleeting thought, Draco pictured himself like Harry. A small version of himself but with Hermione's kind features and a small girl with blonde curly hair. The more his mind ran away with the idea, the more he wanted to start a family with the woman standing in front of him.

"Children?" Draco said, once he regained some composure.

"Sorry." She said a little embarrassed. "That was a bit –"

Draco kiss Hermione again, wrapping his arms around her and spinning her around. "I love you Granger. I don't care when, but the idea of having a family with you is the best idea in a long time."


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hello lovvies! How are we all? Sorry its been so long between updates. Who else has seen Beauty and the Beast and LOVED it? I've been listening to the soundtrack on repeat. Thanks to everybody who has followed and read my little story. Pretty please leave reviews, how else do I know if you like it! And I hope you continue to enjoy it xoxo_**

 ** _P.S the watch scene later on in this chapter is inspired by my Grandfather's watch, which I received after he passed._**

"Aunt Hermione! Uncle Draco!" a very excited James Potter yelled.

"What is it monster?" Draco asked, matching his level of excitement.

"There's 10 sleeps until Father Christmas!" Names screamed, jumping up and down.

The past weeks since Draco and Narcissa reconciled had flown by. London had been blanketed by a continuous flutter of snow, giving the city a beautiful black and white appearance that was only broken by the bright Christmas decorations that adorned the city. With Christmas fast approaching, Draco was starting to panic as to what he should get Hermione. What do you get for the woman who has given him so much?

"And have you been a good boy this year?" Hermione asked him.

"Yes Aunt Hermione." James smiled.

"Don't even mention Christmas and presents." Harry moaned, taking a sip of coffee. "If I hear "Dad can I have" one more time, I'm going to cancel it."

"No Daddy!" James begged, his little face panicking. "Please don't!"

"I'm only joking James." Harry said, reassuring his son. "Now go and get your coat and we'll go to the park."

As James ran off to get his coat, Harry turned to Hermione and Draco, "You guys have all of this to look forward to."

Hermione went bright red, "Who said we are going to have kids?"

"Oh please Hermione." Harry said, rolling his eyes as the three adults followed a now dressed James to the front door. "I might wear glasses but I'm not totally blind."

"You are such an arse Harry Potter." Hermione laughed, gently shoving him.

"Aunt Hermione, race you!" James yelled as he started running in the direction of the park.

With Hermione chasing James, it gave Draco his opportunity to ask Harry for suggestions for Hermione's present.

"Merlin, I don't know." Harry said. "A book?"

"Getting Hermione Granger a book is like getting another wand, pointless." Draco said.

"You could just ask her to marry you." Harry joked, a little too casually for Draco's liking.

Draco said nothing as the two men slowly walked. True, Draco had had fleeting thoughts of asking Hermione to marry him, but it had only been six months since her near wedding to Ron Weasley. Yes they had discussed future children, but Draco didn't want to rush her, at this stage children were a hypothetical dream. Draco and Harry sat on a bench and watched as Hermione and James played around in the snow.

"I don't want to rush her." Draco finally responded.

"I don't think you would be." Harry told him. "You've been brilliant with her since that whole Ron cheating on her on their wedding day fiasco. You two just mesh, she's not trying and neither are you. But if you think its too soon, then how about a weekend away somewhere?"

Draco was lost in thought about where he could take Hermione away, when Hermione and James came running back over to them. "Daddy." James said, tugging on his fathers coat and pointing to the other side of the park. "Why is that fat man staring at us?"

The three adults looked in the direction James was pointing and saw that there was indeed a fat man staring at them. He had blonde hair, his clothes were boring and corporate and looked a little like a pig. He was accompanied by a small boy too. To Draco, he appeared to be nothing more than a strange man with a small child staring at people having fun in the park, but it was clear by the identical horrified looks on Hermione and Harry's face that this was someone they both knew.

"What in the name of all that is Holy is he doing here?" Hermione whispered to Harry, not breaking eye contact with the man.

"No idea." Harry replied, standing up. "Do me a favour and watch James for a second?"

As Hermione and Draco distracted James with the encouragement to build a snow fort, they watched Harry walk over to the man and child, where the two older men shook hands a little awkwardly and begin talking.

"Who is that?" Draco asked Hermione quietly.

"That's Harrys cousin, Dudley." Hermione told him, piling more snow for James' fort. "Dudley's a muggle. He and Harry don't really get along so I have no idea what he's doing here."

After some time, Harry said goodbye to his cousin and the child and made his way back over to Draco, Hermione and James.

"Daddy, who was that?" James asked as he was making a pile of snowballs.

"That was Daddy's cousin and his little boy, Walter." Harry explained, kneeling down to help his son with making snowballs.

Seeming content with his answer, James didn't ask anymore questions about Dudley or his son. Harry caught Hermione eye and just shook his head gently. Draco knew about Harry's muggle family and he knew that they were on Christmas card terms, but as far as he knew, they never saw one another.

 _Draco had invited Harry over to his house in an effort to get to get to know him and establish some sort of friendship. Draco knew he had a long way to go, but he figured that starting their friendship over a couple of beers was probably the right place to start. He had been listening intently as Harry told him about his life growing up with the muggles and how he had never felt like he belonged anywhere until he came to Hogwarts. Draco felt thoroughly ashamed of his former self, trying for force Harry out of the one place he could call home and was accepted by people who genuinely cared for him._

 _"_ _So you're telling me, that even after your cousin found out you were a wizard AND Hagrid gave him a pigs tail, he still used you as a punching bag?" Draco asked, taking a sip of his beer._

 _"_ _Yep."_

 _"_ _Merlin Potter." Draco said, looking a little embarrassed. "And then I did my best to make your life miserable at school."_

 _"_ _Yeah but you didn't do a very good job." Harry laughed. "I've managed to somewhat forgive them a long time ago for how they raised me." He continued._

 _Draco just looked at him, how could he forgive the people who were responsible for his abuse growing up. Draco wasn't quite sure if he'd be so forgiving if he was in Harry's situation._

 _"_ _My Aunt was incredibly jealous of my mother because she got a letter from Hogwarts AND then when they died, Dumbledore didn't give her an option as to whether or not she wanted to raise the child of sister she was insanely jealous of."_

 _"_ _That's still no excuse for child abuse Potter and you know it." Draco said._

 _"_ _Don't forget, I also had a piece of Voldemorts soul in me." Harry reminded him._

 _Draco still hated hearing that name, he could almost feel his Dark Mark move whenever someone mentioned it. "What does that have to do with it?" Draco asked._

 _"_ _Well, Hermione has a theory about that." Harry said, taking a sip of his beer. "Being around a horcrux eats away at you over time, influencing the way you feel about things and people. We were all affected when we were trying to destroy that damn necklace. The Dursley's already didn't think much of having to raise me, but to be around a horcrux for 10 years, its got to have some sort of influence over their behaviour."_

 _Draco sat quietly, thinking over what Harry had just shared with him. It did sound highly plausible, mind you, anything that came out of Hermione Granger mouth was bound to be right._

 _"_ _You're a forgiving man Potter." Draco told him._

 _"_ _Yeah but I'm petty too." Harry laughed. Draco just raised an eyebrow. "If they every annoy me too much, I just tell them that I know the spell that Hagrid used to give Dudley a pigs tail."_

Back inside the house and James had been put down for his afternoon nap, Harry told Hermione, Draco and Ginny exactly why his cousin sought him out.

"His son is a wizard."

Hermione and Ginny mouths hung open and Draco's eyes went wide.

"Is he sure?" Ginny asked.

"Positive." Harry said. "The kid is making things levitate and he changed the colour of his bedroom wallpaper because he didn't like beige." After a few moment of silence, Harry burst out into laughter. Draco started grinning at Harrys outburst, but quickly stopped when he saw the stern looks on Hermione and Ginny's faces.

"Why is this so funny?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Their whole situation." Harry said, continuing to laugh. "Like it's their penance."

"Yes, we all know how they treated you Harry." Ginny said, raising her voice and slapping her hands dawn on the table. "Yes, they made you suffer terribly because you're a wizard. And if history is anything to go by, your Aunt and Uncle might treat this child with the same contempt they showed you!"

There was silence in the room. Draco hadn't thought of that, if the stories Potter told him were true, then this child stood no chance of getting any support in transitioning into the magical world.

"From where I stand, you're all that boys got in terms of magical support." Ginny continued, talking gentler to her husband. "You have to be the bigger person here and offer your support to your cousin. You say you've forgiven them, well, its time to prove it"

"You were lucky that you had Hagrid take you around Diagon Alley." Hermione said, "My parents, though accepting of who I was and my new world, struggled to understand how it all worked because they were muggles."

Harry sighed and dragged his hands through his hair. "Yeah you're right. I'll go and visit tomorrow and see if they have any questions."

"Good." Hermione said, standing up. "Now that that's sorted, I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss. See you at Christmas."

After saying goodbye to their friends, Hermione and Draco apparated home. "Promise me something Draco." Hermione asked, taking her shoes off.

"Anything."

"If anybody suggests names like Walter for our children, you'll hex them."

* * *

Hermione groaned as she rolled over to check the time. Six o'clock in the morning. What adult without children wakes up at six o'clock in the morning on Christmas Day. Getting up quietly as not to disturb Draco, who was still snoring, she put on his shirt from last night and crept downstairs.

As she sat at the kitchen table nursing a cup of tea, she couldn't help but think at how different this Christmas would be compared to the last.

 _Hermione sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea waiting for Ronald to drag his sorry arse out of bed. It was nearly one in the afternoon and they were due at the Burrow at two for Christmas lunch with the Weasleys and Potters. As she finished her tea, Ron came thumping down the stairs, haphazardly dressed._

 _"_ _Merry Christmas." Hermione smiled at him, but she only received a yawn and wave in return._

 _"_ _These my presents?" Ron asked, collecting the three gifts addressed to him._

 _"_ _Yes." Hermione said, sitting next to him and reaching for the only one that had her name on it._

 _She wasn't surprised that Ron only bought her one gift, it was a miracle that he bought her anything, but after the wedding, Hermione was sure he'd get better. She opened her gift and saw it was another quill, ink pot and parchment. The go to gift for her birthday, their anniversary and now Christmas. At least he was being practical. She watched his face light up as he opened the gifts from her, dragonskin quidditch gloves, a history of the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team book signed by the current team and season tickets to their games._

 _"_ _Thanks babes." Ron gushed, oh how she hated that nickname. "You're the best. Did you like your present?"_

 _"_ _Of course I do, its brilliant." Hermione told him, however inside she was screaming no. "How about we get a move on and get to your Mums?"_

"Good Morning." A voice behind her yawned. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas." She replied. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"Nah you didn't." Draco smiled, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

She watched Draco as he sleepily walked into the kitchen, clad in only his white Calvin Klein's, and pour himself a cup of tea. Hermione smiled to herself, of course this Christmas is going to be better than the last, she has Draco.

"And what are you smiling at?" Draco asked, as he started pulling food out of the fridge.

"Just admiring what's mine." Hermione retorted, standing up.

"You're not coming over here to help." Draco told her, as he spread cream cheese on a round bread loaf.

"And why not?" She asked, smiling at him.

"Because I want to make Christmas breakfast for the most beautiful girl I know." Draco informed her teasingly.

Hermione laughed at him and sat back down. If somebody had told her a year ago that a seminaked Draco Malfoy would be making her Christmas breakfast, she would have laughed at the idea. Hermione would have thought she'd be married to Ron, probably hoping for some kind of miraculous change in him. "So what's the plan for today?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well after breakfast, we'll open presents." Draco said, arranging smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and basil on the bread so it looked like a wreath. "Then visit your parents, go to the Burrow and then come home."

"Sounds perfect." Hermione smiled, as Draco brought breakfast and champagne over to the table. "Why are we having champagne?"

"Why not?" Draco retorted, popping the bottle. "Its our first Christmas together and we're happy, an emotion that I didn't realise I was capable of experiencing until our worlds collided."

"Good answer." Hermione said, taking her glass from him.

After breakfast, Hermione and Draco sat in front of the living room window, almost childlike, watching the snow fall. She picked up his first present and handed it to Draco and he did the same. With excited grins, they both peeled the paper away from their gifts. Hermione gasped when she saw that he had bought her an Oscar de la Renta Falling Flowers Cloqué dress. She had seen the dress a while back in Harrods and made on offhand comment to Draco that she liked the dress, but never did she imagine that he would buy it for her.

Draco's eyes widened as he opened a box containing Cartier custom made Golden Snitch cufflinks. "Thank you Hermione. These are amazing."

"You're more than welcome, I noticed you only had two pairs so I thought you should add another to your collection." Hermione replied. "This dress is stunning. How did you know?"

"See you thought I wasn't listening to you as we walked by." Draco said with a little bit of playful teasing. "The only part I didn't know was what size to buy, so Ginny got it for me." She laughed at him before opening her next gift of a first edition of _Hogwarts: A History._ "Draco where did you get this? Its wonderful."

"Never you mind." Draco smiled. He had actually plucked the book from his Mothers library, knowing Hermione's affliction for books, he knew it would be perfect for her, so he took it and left a note for his mother informing her of his actions. Peeling back the paper of his second gift, a monogrammed black cashmere scarf. "This is perfect."

They opened a few more presents. Draco loved his new selection of silk ties, and Hermione was excited with her Louis Vuitton stilettos that matched her dress flawlessly. They each had one last gift for one another. Exchanging their gifts, they opened them together. Hermione gasped, holding a crystal Eiffel Tower and tickets for a romantic weekend away to Paris. "Draco this is too much." She said, leaning forward to give him a kiss.

"Nonsense." Draco said. "You deserve it because I love you." He opened a small white box and pulled out a silver wristwatch. It seemed like Hermione had had this for a while. He turned it over and saw an engraving on the back. _Time is not measured by clocks, but by moments._ "Wow, Hermione." He said softly.

Hermione smiled at him and held his hand. "It was my father's and his father's before that."

"This is too much." Draco said. "I can't –"

"I want you to have this." She told him firmly. "At the moment in time I needed help, you were there. And I'm sure he would be grateful that you were."

Draco slipped the watch onto his wrist and buckled it, a perfect fit. For the first time in a long time, Draco felt his eyes water. He was sorry that his former life and those he surrounded himself with had broken a family whose lived were full of love and a little jealousy that Hermione could love her father when all Draco felt for his was hate and contempt.

Hermione crawled into his lap and brushed away his tears. "Draco, I love you." She whispered. "We have all the time we want now."

He sniffed, taking comfort in their closeness. "Thank you for giving me a chance. I don't think I can be without you in my life."

Hermione laughed, kissing him softly. "Good thing you're stuck with me then, isn't it?"

"Merlin." Draco said, rubbing his hands over his face. "You're turning me into an emotional wreck Granger."

"I'm sure you'll live." Hermione teased. "Now lets go."

* * *

"I hate that you have to do this." Draco said softly as he watched Hermione talk to her parents.

"So do I." Hermione agreed, discreetly conjuring a wreath to place on their grave. "But they would be happy with the life I now have with you." Draco just looked at her, he had been feeling for some time now that Hermione was the one for him, he couldn't imagine being with anybody else. She made him want to be the best man he could be.

Once Hermione had said goodbye to her parents, they apparated to the Burrow, where they were greeted with hugs and Christmas greetings from everyone. Draco and Hermione gave Mrs Weasley an ornate crystal vase that Hermione has enchanted to keep any flowers placed in it to always look fresh and Mr Weasley a muggle laptop.

"My boy, this is amazing!" Mr Weasley exclaimed, admiring his present and smiling at Draco and Hermione.

"This looks amazing Mrs. Weasley." Draco said, sitting down next to his love. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No thank you dear. Just sit and enjoy yourself." Mrs. Wesley replied, giving Draco's cheek a little loving pinch.

Draco couldn't help but notice one Weasley was missing, Ron had yet to surface. Not that Draco was complaining, he was enjoying not being hassled by his former school mate. However, no sooner had he finished that thought, Ron burst in.

"Happy Christmas." He said, taking the only seat, which happened to be in front of Draco. Draco reached for Hermione's hand and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze. "What are they doing here? They're not family." He continued, waving hugs hands at Hermione and Draco.

"Yes they are Ronald Weasley!" His mother scolded him. "Wed've known Hermione since she was a child and Draco is a wonderful addition, he adores James and Albus and has been so kind to this family."

The table went quiet for a moment. Draco didn't expect to be defended like that by Molly Weasley. It made him feel good to know that he now was a part of a family who liked him for who he really is. In the beginning for his friendship with the Potters, Draco was positive that Mrs. Weasley would never warm to him, but once she saw how much James loved him, she started to thaw. Now, Draco couldn't imagine how he would get by without his chats and advice from her.

"Uncle Draco! Guess what?" James said enthusiastically as he ran over to sit on Draco's lap.

"What monster?" Draco replied, smiling at him.

"Father Christmas got me a broom!" James squealed with excitement.

"No way! That's so cool." Draco said, giving James a high five.

"And Daddy says that you and him will give me lessons because you're the best fliers in the whole wide world!" James said. Then he leaned in to whisper to Draco, but being three he hadn't mastered it yet, continued. "But not to listen to Aunt Hermione because she's rubbish at flying."

"Really?" Hermione laughed, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"Don't look at me like that. You know its true." Harry grinned. "As I remember, you couldn't even get off the ground in our first flying lesson."

Hermione just stuck her tongue out at him. Harry had a point, she was awful at flying, but hopefully any children her and Draco have will inherit his flying abilities.

"And guess what else?" James continued, ignoring his Father and Aunt Hermione's exchange.

"What?" Draco replied.

"I have a new cousin, Walter and he's a wizard and Daddy is going to show his Daddy how to help him." James informed him.

"Doesn't that sound great." Draco told James. "So your discussion went well then?" he asked Harry as James slid down from his lap and returned to his seat.

"After an hour of trying to console my Uncle." Harry said, rolling his eyes. "They seem to have taken it better than they did with me. I'm going to visit again and slowly introduce them into things"

"Well that's good." Hermione smiled. "Small steps."

Christmas dinner and the present exchange had gone off without any incident from Ron, who had of course not bought anybody a gift, as that was usually Hermione's job when they were together. Hermione hoped to herself that Ron must have learnt his lesson in how to behave after their meeting at the park, but with the glares he was shooting them, it seemed like he was restraining himself from causing a scene.

"Not spending Christmas with your Death Eater parents then Malfoy?" Ron asked as rudely as possible.

Everyone at the table went quiet, in shock that Ron would attempt to start an argument on Christmas Day. However Draco had mentally been preparing himself for some sort of remark from the man sitting opposite him, and without missing a beat he retorted, "I'm sure they're out there somewhere torturing a muggle for Christmas. How's Lavender?"

It seemed that Ron didn't have a response to Draco's question, he just kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Draco just turned to Hermione and gave her a kiss on the cheek before pouring her another drink. He wasn't just going to sit back and let Ron Weasley ruin his and Hermione's Christmas, not when he was determined to make sure she had the day she deserved.

"Uncle Ron, you're so mean to Uncle Draco and Aunt Hermione." James told him, very seriously. "If you can't think of anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. That's what Thumper says."

"Thumper?" Draco asked, looking at Hermione.

"The rabbit from Bambi." Hermione told him. "It's a muggle movie we all watched growing up."

"So Draco." George piped up, changing the subject with a mischievous look in his eye. "Are we going to play another round of golf anytime soon, or can't you bear to be apart from your gorgeous girlfriend?"

"The latter." Draco smiled. "But I'm sure if you want to lose again, I can tear myself away from her side for long enough."

"That's fighting talk Malfoy." George laughed, pointing his fork at him.

Their afternoon progressed without another outburst from Ron, who sat and glared at Hermione and Draco the whole time. When Hermione saw Draco asleep on the sofa with James curled up against him, her heart melted. Harry came over to collect his son, but first put his arms around Hermione. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas Harry." She replied, hugging him tighter.

"And I was serious about the flying thing." Harry laughed, picking his son up. "Stay away from my kids if they have a broom."

"I'll make sure of it." Draco mumbled, standing up. "Ready to go?"

Hermione nodded and held his hand before saying goodbye to everyone in the Burrow and apparated home. It had been on Hermione's kind since Ron brought it up, had Draco wanted to see his parents on Christmas?

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Did you want to see your parents today?" she asked, watching him light a fire.

Draco turned and looked at her, his parents weren't even a thought that crossed his mind today. "Maybe my Mother, but she would have brought Father along and I don't see him setting foot in this house again anytime soon."

Hermione did agree with him, their last encounter with Lucius had been terrible. "Maybe one day he'll catch on that you're your own man and you can make your own choices."

"Yeah and then hell will freeze over and it'll rain diamonds!" Draco said with great sarcasm as he sat sown next to Hermione.

There was a peaceful silence between them as they listened to the crackle of the fire and watching the snow fall outside the window. Both totally content with the world and ready to embrace what moments in time they would experience in the New Year.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Hi everyone! Thanks to all of you who read the last chapter. Over 10,000 views on my story, thank you all! Hopefully updates between chapters won't be so long this time. This will be a shorter chapter, but I promise the next one will be huge. As usual, follow my story and comment below xoxo_**

Draco rolled over in bed, trying to get comfortable, but it was so hard with Hermione having the light on reading. He gave up on the idea of sleep for the moment and rolled over to face Hermione. He loved the way she bit her bottom lip when she was reading something exciting and how gently she caressed the pages as she was turning them. "Staring is rude you know." Hermione told him as she turned another page. Of course she knew he was staring at her.

"I'm not staring. Just admiring the view." He smiled. The more he watched her, the more Draco felt himself grow hard. Reaching over, he grabbed her book and threw it across the room.

"What do you think you're –" Hermione began to scold him, but wasn't able to complete her sentence as he pulled her into a searing kiss. He pulled her down the bed and climbed on top of her, kissing her along her collarbone and along her jawline. Draco found himself getting more aroused when she moaned his name.

It was almost as if there was electricity surrounding them, each kiss for passionate than the last. He grabbed the front of her nightgown and ripped it open. Draco didn't know what came over him, just that he had to have her right now. "What's going on?" she asked, reaching down to remove his boxers.

"This is what you do to me Granger." Draco said, leaning down to kiss her again, placing his middle and ring fingers in her wet centre.

Hermione gasped at Draco's actions, they always had amazing sex but this was different, almost primal. Draco removed his fingers from her and placed them in her mouth, he groaned at the sight of her tasting herself. He shifted himself so that his tip was at her entrance. He held her hands above her head and thrust hard inside of her, causing Hermione to arch her back in pleasure. Their kisses deepened as Draco started to pick up speed as she met him halfway, rotating her hips with each movement.

Hermione had never experienced anything like this. She ran her fingernails down his back which only seemed to encourage him. Suddenly Draco stopped, Hermione was about to protest when he flipped her over so that she was on all fours. He grabbed a handful of her hair as he entered her again. This new angle made Hermione scream, she didn't know that Draco could be so deep inside her. His hands them grabbed her hips, the sound of their bodies meeting only broken by Hermione's gasps.

Draco knew he was close, but he wanted to look at Hermione's face when he finished. Once more he pulled out of her, only this time he lay down as she rode him. He watched as his cock disappeared into her pink folds. Her hands pushing against his chest as she rolled her hips as he thrust upwards. He was almost there, the sight on her on top of, her eyes closed and her mouth open were going to drive him over the edge.

"Draco I'm going to cum!" she panted him. "Cum with me Draco". With a few more hard strokes, she let out a scream of pleasure, saying his name over and over. "Fuck Hermione!" he shouted, cumming inside her and feeling her clench around him.

Hermione collapsed on top of him, both of them panting. He didn't know it was possible to experience so much pleasure with one person, almost like they were made for each other. He held her in his arms and moved back to their usual sleeping positions and pulled the blanket back over them. Hermione wrapped her arms around him and gently stroked his hair. "I love you" He told her quietly.

She kissed his chest, right over his heart. "I love you too. So it's the last day of the year." She mumbled.

"If that's how we end a year, I can't wait to see how we start the next one." Draco murmured, drifting back off to sleep thinking that his life could not possibly get any better that this.

* * *

"You're going to ask her to marry you tonight?" Harry exclaimed as he and Draco walked into a jewellery shop in Diagon Alley.

"Keep your voice down." Draco hissed, but still smiling at his friend. "But yes, I'm going to do it tonight."

"Congratulations mate." Harry said, clapping Draco on the shoulder.

The two men moved towards the engagement rings. Draco wasn't sure what kind of ring to buy her, part of him wanted to buy the biggest and most expensive one in the store but he knew that it wouldn't appeal to her. Then something caught his eye. A 2 carat pear shaped diamond ring. Draco immediately knew that it was the one for her. Simple and elegant. With Harry's approval and blessing, Draco purchased the ring.

"So what made you change your mind about asking her?" Harry asked as they headed for a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. "You seemed against the idea two weeks ago."

"I dunno really." Draco said. "After she gave me her Fathers watch, it just sort of clicked how much I actually do love her. And then last night when we were having -"

"Jesus Christ Malfoys stop! That's my sister." Harry said pulling a face and signalling the barman for two beers while they sat down. "Anyway, I didn't think you knew how to express any sort of emotion."

"Yeah, well either did I." Draco laughed. "I'll do it just before midnight at the Ministry party tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry smiled, raising a glass to his friend. "Cheers mate."

Meanwhile, back at Grimmauld Place, Hermione had just finished regaling Ginny with her antics last night with Draco. "So he ripped your nightgown in half?" Ginny said, her mouth hanging open.

"Right down the middle." Hermione replied, blushing a brilliant shade of red. "I honestly didn't know things could be like that."

"Welcome to my world." Ginny laughed, taking a sip of wine. "Harry does this thing where he gets his hand and –"

"Ginny no!" Hermione shrieked, clapping her hands over her ears. "He's my brother."

The two women laughed. "Its quiet without the boys home." Ginny said.

"I'm sure they're having lots of fun with your parents."

"I know. I'm just not used to having this much personal space."

Hermione did agree, it was quiet without the boys, but Ginny and Harry deserved to have a night out. It would also be the first time Hermione and Draco had officially announced their relationship. There were rumours, but so far nobody had actually come forward and said something. She was grateful for this, it gave her and Draco a chance to get to know each other and allow their relationship to blossom without having the scrutiny of the whole wizard world watching their every move. As far as she was concerned, she got off rather lightly in the media in regards to hers and Ron's wedding, something she figured Harry had a part in keeping it all quiet.

"So when do you go to Paris?" Ginny asked, topping up Hermione's glass.

"Its cliché but we're thinking Valentines Day." Hermione replied, taking a sip.

"I think that sounds lovely." Ginny smiled. "Lets go get ready."

* * *

At seven o'clock, Harry and Draco were sitting in the living room dressed in their best tuxedos, waiting for Hermione and Ginny to make their grand appearance. "I swear to Merlin, Ginny does this every time we're going out." Harry moaned to Draco. He did agree that the women did often run a little behind, but he was sure they were worth the wait. Draco checked the inside of his jacket pocket for the millionth time to make sure the ring was still in there, now that the time was getting closer, the more nervous he started to feel.

"Ginny! Hermione!" Harry yelled. "Would you hurry up! We'll be late."

"Oh keep your hair on Potter." Ginny grumbled as she walked through the door. She looked stunning in a gold sequins dress that accentuated every inch of her body. Harry's jaw dropped at the sight of his wife.

Hermione walked through the door behind her friend and Draco hitched a breath. She was wearing a black two piece satin evening gown. It was a floor length ball gown skirt with a lace long sleeved top with only a thin strip of her midriff showing. Draco had never seen anybody look at beautiful as she did standing in front of him. Je walked over to her and kissed her. "You look enchanting." He smiled, resting his forehead against hers.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She giggled, kissing him again.

"If you two could stop and tear your selves apart for ten minutes." Harry interrupted, "we could get going."

The two couples apparated to the Ministry and were greeted with the most stunning setting. The lobby had been dimmed and all around the place were dots of gold, purple, nuke and white lights giving the whole place a romantic feel. They made their way over to their table, exchanging greetings with George Weasley, Luna Lovegood Seamus Finnegan and to Draco's surprise, his old friend Blaine Zabini.

"Blaise." Draco said, shaking his hand. "What are you doing here? Its been years"

"Cleaning myself up, just like you have." Blaise smiled. "We'll have to catch up soon."

"Definitely." Draco said, taking his seat next to Hermione.

As the night moved closer to midnight, Draco was getting more and more nervous. He felt like he was going to be sick. Leaving Hermione to get more drinks, he was followed by Ginny. "Okay. What's up?"

"What do you mean?" Draco said, trying to sound casual. "Nothings up." Ginny just gave him a look that was eerily close to her mothers. Draco rolled his eyes, maybe if he told her it would alleviate his nerves. "I'm going to ask Hermione to marry me tonight."

"I knew it!" Ginny said, hugging him. "When?"

"Just before midnight."

"You are just too sweet Draco Malfoy." Ginny said, giving him a gentle pinch on the cheek, just as her mother did.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied his parents. It had been months since he'd seen them. Maybe wishing his father a happy new year would begin to thaw their relationship. "Mother. Father. Happy New Year." He said, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and shaking his fathers hand.

"Happy New Year son." Narcissa beamed. "Is Hermione here with you?"

"Yes, she over there." Draco said, motioning in her direction.

"Excuse me. I must go say hello."

And with that Narcissa walked off and left her husband and son standing a little awkwardly next to each other. "I see you're still with the girl." Lucius said, nodding in Hermione's direction. Draco rolled his eyes, of course his father wouldn't j's her name, but at least he didn't call her a mudblood.

"Yes I am." He said, taking a sip of firewhiskey. "Actually father, there's something you should know." Lucius cocked an eyebrow but didn't say anything so Draco continued. "I'm going Tomas her to marry me tonight. I'm not asking for your blessing or permission, I just thought you should know."

"Since we last spoke, I have had some time to reflect." Lucius began.

"You mean mother told you to rethink things?" Draco said, half grinning.

"Yes." Lucius continued. "And although the girl is muggleborn, she does seem to make you happy. You're your own man Draco"

Disco started at his father with a shocked look on his face. This was completely the opposite to how he thought he would react. "At least she's an exceptionally gifted muggleborn." Lucius finished. Draco knew his father wasn't one hundred percent on board with his choice, but he was grateful that he was trusting him to be his own man and to make his own choices in life.

"Thank you father." Draco said , shaking his hand. "Maybe we'll have dinner together some time in the New Year."

Lucius nodded then walked away to go and speak to someone else. As Draco made his way back to the table, he felt like things were finally starting to come together in his life and for the first time, he was looking forward to what the New Year would bring.

"Did you have a nice chat with your father?" Hermione asked, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Actually yeah." Draco said, kissing the tip of her nose. "I'm not going Tomlin and say he's totally on board with us, but I think he's realised he's got no choice."

"We are talking about the same man?" Hermione asked, jokingly.

"I might have to check and see if he's been put under the Imperius curse." Draco laughed. "C'mon. Lets dance."

Draco led Hermione to the dancefloor where he out his hand on her waist and led her in a waltz. Life really could not be more perfect for either of them. They were both aware of the flashes of cameras aimed at them and people pointing, but they were in a world of their own. Draco looked at the time, eleven forty five. Feeling lime he was going to be sick, Draco dragged Hermione away from the centre of the room and closer to where Harry and Ginny stood. They both caught his eye knowingly and winked.

"Draco are you alright?" Hermione asked, sounding concerned. "You're all sweaty and pale."

"No I'm fine." Draco said, taking her hands in his. "Hermione, since the moment you burst into my life wearing a soaking wedding dress and drinking a bottle of whiskey, you've turned my life upside down. I didn't think I was capable of redemption until you offered it to me. You've changed me for the better."

Hermione was smiling at him, figuring he was a little drunk and that's why he was speaking like this. However, when she saw him pull a box out of his jacket and get down on one knee, did her eyes go wide and she fully understand what he was doing.

"Hermione Granger.L" Draco said, his voice quivering slightly. "You are the love of my life and I promise to spend every day proving it to you." He opened the box to reveal the most stunning ring she had ever seen. "Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

By now the whole room had cottoned on to what was happening and had shifted their attention over to them. Hermione felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Of course I'll marry you!" she exclaimed.

Draco jumped back up and placed the ring on her dinger. The two of them were greeted with cheers and a round of applause from the whole room whole camera flashes were constantly going off. Draco was immediately brought into a manly hug from Harry whole Ginny gushes over Hermione's ring. Draco saw his parents standing off to the side, his father giving him a nod.

"This calls for Champagne!" Draco said, taking Hermione's hand and leading her to the bar.

It seemed to be everybody wanted to wish them congratulations, lots of people were shaking their hands and offering their best wishes. As they were almost at the bar, someone bumped into Draco's shoulder. Draco didn't manage to see the person's face, he just brushed the front of his suit to smooth out the seam. As he did that, he felt something wet on his hand. Thinking the individual must have spilt his drink down him, he reached for a napkin, only realising that the liquid on his hand was bright red. Draco looked down at his chest and saw a red spot on his white shirt grow larger and larger around his heart.

"Hermione."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Hi everyone. Thanks for staying with me and reading my little story. I did promise you a big chapter next, so here it is. As usual, like the story and comment below xoxo_**

"Hermione."

Hermione turned around, smiling, to see what Draco wanted. It took a couple of seconds to process exactly what she was seeing. Draco was standing still, looking at his hands covered in blood and his white shirt turning a deep crimson colour, his face etched with fear. As he started to collapse, Hermione rushed forward and held him so he didn't hit the floor too hard and she let out a blood-curdling scream. The clocked chimed to signal the start of the New Year, but nobody paid it any mind. A crowd had gathered around the pair to see what was going on. Somewhere in the distance Hermione could hear Harry and Ginny screaming her name as they fought their way through the crowds. Shaking, Hermione placed her hands over the wound to try and stop the bleeding and Draco's breathing had started to become rapid and shallow. There was so much blood.

"Hermione." Draco whispered, struggling to speak. "I – I –"

"Shhh." Hermione soothed, tears streaming down her face as she cradled him. "Its okay. You'll be fine." Hermione looked up at all of the people standing around watching the scene that was unfolding before them, not one of them helping her. Why weren't they helping her? Where was the person that did this?

"Hermione." Draco gasped, placing his hand over hers. "Hermione. I love you. I've loved you from the second you walked back into my life."

"Don't you say this, don't you dare." Hermione cried. "You can't leave me."

"I'm not." Draco promised quietly, struggling to stay awake. "I'm scared Hermione."

By now Harry and Ginny had made their way through the throng of people. Harry knelt replaced Hermione's hands with his.

"Fucking hell." Harry said, applying pressure to Draco's wound.

Draco's eyes snapped to Harry, his face etched with pure fear. "Harry." He choked. "I don't want to die. Please don't let me die."

"You won't mate, I promise. Keep hanging in there." Harry promised his friend, tears forming in his eyes. "We've got to get him to St. Mungo's. Now." Without any time for her to argue back, Harry disapparated with Draco.

"Hermione. We have to go." Ginny said, gently pulling Hermione to her feet.

Everybody was still looking at her and she was covered in Draco's blood, the only mercy was that she was wearing black so nobody could see exactly how much blood she was covered in. She scanned the room for Lucius and Narcissa, surely they were still here. As Hermione looked down at her blood stained hands she noticed something on the floor. It was a small silver knife, and it had blood on it. Hermione picked it up and realised she knew exactly who it belonged to. Before she could process her realisation, Ginny had grabbed her hand and taken her to St Mungo's.

Together they ran through St Mungo's trying to find Harry and Draco. Ginny grabbed a nurse and demanded to know where they were and they were pointed in the right direction. As they rounded the corner they saw Harry standing in front of a window, his hands clenching his hair and worry on his face. As they approached, they saw Draco in the room, his shirt and jacket bad been removed and placed in a bloody heap on the floor, his skin paper white and his chest moving rapidly has he tried to catch a breath. The healers were administering blood replenishing potions as they worked to close the wound, but it didn't seem to be closing. Slowly, Draco turned his head and looked at Hermione, his arm outstretched as if reaching for her. Hermione pressed her hand against the glass and with the other, showed Draco the knife. His eyes went wide in realisation, he mumbled something to the healers before losing consciousness.

"Where did you get that?" Harry asked, eyes wide as he saw the knife.

"On the floor in the Ministry." Hermione replied, looking at it. "How did it get here?"

"I don't know." Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Can either one of you explain what it is?" Ginny asked, clutching on to her husband.

"This is the knife that did this." Hermione told her, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the word _Mudblood_ carved into her flesh. "This knife belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange."

"I don't get it." Harry said, looking confused. "I buried that knife with Dobby. The only people around when I buried it were you, me, Dean, Luna, Bill and…"

"Ron."

* * *

Hermione apparated to the Burrow with Harry and Ginny closely behind her. There could be no way that Ron Weasley did this. She burst through the door and into kitchen where she was greeted by a smiling Mrs. Weasley.

"Hello dear. How was your –" she smiled.

"Where is he?" Hermione growled, moving into the living room. There she saw him, standing and looking at the commotion coming from the kitchen. Why was this man so adamant on ruining her life? At the sight of him, Hermione lost all comprehensible thought. She marched right up to him and before he got the chance to open his mouth, she punched him in the jaw, knocking him back on to the sofa. Clutching his face, Ron didn't see her come at him again. This time, she grabbed a fist full of his hair and yanked his head back, brandishing the knife in his face.

"Where did you get this?" She yelled at her former friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he squealed, trying to move away from her but couldn't.

"LIAR!" she screamed, tightening her grip on his head. "WHERE DID YOU GET THIS KNIFE?"

"Okay fine." Ron conceded, wincing in Hermione's grip. "I dug it up six months ago."

"Why?"

"I needed the money." He explained pathetically. "After you left me, I had nothing. So I went to Shell Cottage and dug it up. I sold it at Borgin and Burkes."

Hermione looked down at her former fiancé and for the first time in a long time, she saw him for who he was. He was still the bumbling idiot from school, desperate to do whatever he can to survive providing it's the easiest option and only looking out for himself. God he was pathetic. With one last look of disgust, she let go of his hair and he shot as far away from her as he could.

"Were you at the Ministry tonight?" she asked, calmly but pointing the knife at him.

"No I've been here all night with Mum, Dad and the boys." He said, putting his hands up in defence but speaking the truth.

Hermione lowered the knife, turned and went to walk out of the door. On her way out, Harry grabbed her arm. "Hermione, let me take care of this. You get back to him." Hermione smiled and handed him the knife, and without looking back she returned to the hospital.

As Hermione walked back to Draco's room, she muttered a quick _scourgify_ on her hands to remove Draco's blood. She didn't understand how things could have happened and why didn't she act and take him to hospital sooner. She met with the healer in his room where he informed her that once they found out what kind of cursed injury they were dealing with they were able to operate a lot quicker. If the knife had been two millimetres lower, Draco wouldn't have survived. The healer did warm Hermione that he wasn't out of the woods just yet, he had lost a lot of blood and that there would be a slight risk of brain damage, so they had placed him a magically induced coma so his body could rest and recuperate but they wouldn't know the full extent until he woke up. Hermione nodded and thanked the healer for everything he did before sitting down and taking Draco's hand in hers, praying that he would be fine.

* * *

It had been three days and there had been no change in Draco's condition had Harry found out who did this. Hermione hadn't left his bedside and only changed out of her bloodstained clothes when Ginny had brought her something clean not long after she left the Burrow. The healers explained that they had removed the enchantment to keep him asleep, now it was up to him to wake up. He didn't look like how muggles do when they're in a coma, all covered in tubes and the beeps of various machines. Draco merely looked like he was sleeping. Hermione was holding his hand in both of hers, silently begging him to wake up.

"How's he doing?" Harry asked, coming in through the door with Ginny, James and Albus.

"Still nothing," Hermione replied, not taking her eyes off him.

James crawled up into Hermione's lap and gave her the biggest hug he could. "Aunt Hermione, is Uncle Draco going to be okay?"

"I don't know James." Hermione told him sadly, tears falling down her face.

"Don't cry Aunt Hermione!" James said, looking worried and wiping away her tears with his little hands. "Uncle Draco is a big boy, he'll be ok."

Hermione smiled at the little boy in front of her, he was so innocent and loving. Hermione felt great pride in Harry and Ginny for raising such a wonderful little boy.

"Can I give him a cuddle Daddy?" James asked his father. "It might make him better."

"Course you can buddy." Harry said, sitting with Ginny and Alba on Draco's other side.

Hermione lifted James onto the bed and carefully sat him next to Draco where he immediately snuggled right up to him. It was a hard image for Hermione to see. What if Draco never woke up? He would never get the opportunity to cuddle his own children. Hermione felt her heart break even more, if it was possible and held his hand once more. James' little fingers traced over Draco's scar, almost as if he was trying to erase it. Hermione squeezed Draco's hand gently, as she had done countless times over the last three days, to let him know she was still here with him.

That's when she felt it. He squeezed her hand back.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, standing up. "Draco can you hear me?"

The Potters looked up to see what was going on and James has grabbed his other hand, mimicking Hermione's squeezing.

"Draco wake up." Hermione begged. "Please wake up."

"Uncle Draco!" James said, shaking and squeezing his hand. "Open your eyes."

Then, much to the relief of everyone in the room, Draco's eyes gently fluttered open. Hermione smiled the first smile she had in three days and leaned down and gave Draco a kiss. A kiss full of relief and happiness.

"Hello." Draco mumbled.

"Hello?" Ginny laughed. "After three days, all you can say is hello?"

"I left my speech in my jacket, sorry." He grinned, still trying to wake up.

"Good to have you back mate." Harry said smiling.

"Careful Potter." Draco said, readjusting himself in bed. "Or you'll get a kiss next."

Harry laughed, glad to know that Draco was still an arse. "So what exactly happened?" he asked seriously.

"I have no idea." Draco said, sitting up a little more. "Someone bumped into me as we were heading to the bar, then next minute I'm covered in blood and thinking I'm about to die."

"And you didn't see who did it?" Ginny

"Nope." He said, shaking his head. "How in the hell did they manage to get that knife?"

"Ron took it from where Harry hid it and sold it." Hermione told him sadly.

Draco looked at them in shock. Hermione and Harry's faces were full of sadness that their former friend could do something like that, but Ginny's face showed her shame in her older brother. Refusing to look at Draco, she busied herself with Albus.

"Its alright Gin." Draco said, smiling at her.

"I can't believe he played a part in this." She whispered, still not looking at him.

"If we were judged by the sins of our relatives, I'm pretty sure none of you would be here with me right now." Draco laughed, giving Ginny and comforting smile.

"Don't worry Uncle Draco." James said, giving him the biggest hug he could. "Daddy is going to find the bad guys."

* * *

After a few more days in St. Mungo's, much to the relief of everyone, Draco was allowed home. All that was left to remind them of the tragic event last week, was a three inch scar on Draco's chest. Hermione knew it would never heal, the word carved on her arm were evidence of that. The healer explained that Draco did experience very mild brain damage, so he might get tired more often and have some slight memory issues, but it should clear up on its own within the year. The healer asked tom speak to Hermione away from Draco for a moment, where he warned Hermione that initially Draco would have trouble moderating his moods, meaning he could lash out at any point. Hermione knew this would be a challenge, but she promised that she would love and take care of him no matter what. The only thing still weighing on their minds, was that whoever was responsible for this is still walking around, but Hermione couldn't let herself or Draco be preoccupied with these thoughts as Harry and a team of Aurors were working to find them.

Hermione was sitting on the sofa watching a film with Draco's head resting on her lap, her left hand placed over his heart, almost protectively. She found it calming to feel his heartbeat underneath her palm, both of them enjoying the peace and quiet in their home.

"So." Draco said, fiddling with her engagement ring. "Do you like your ring?"

"I love it." Hermione smiled, looking down at him. "It's perfect."

"What a crazy week." Draco sighed.

Hermione sat silently thinking about the past week and all she could go back to was how she didn't help him, how it was Harry who brought him to St Mungo's while she just sat on the floor. "Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco asked, sitting up once he noticed her tears.

"I should have done something." She sobbed, not looking at him.

"What do you mean?" Draco said, perplexed as to what she was talking about.

"After it happened. I didn't do anything to help. Harry took you to St Mungo's, I just froze." She explained, wiping her tears.

Draco pulled Hermione into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "You did so much. You kept me calm and conscious and you tried to stop the bleeding." He told her gently. "You there when I needed you the most and if anything did happen, then I could have seen your face one last time."

Draco understood her feelings, for the longest time he felt the same way about her and Harry. When they were brought to the Manor during the war, Draco wished he had the courage to stand up to his family and help them. Draco understood that his actions were for self-preservation formed out of fear, and after a while, that thought helped him move on from his actions during the war.

"And besides, you did one thing that I am eternally grateful for." Draco said, laughing a little.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking confused.

"You punched the Weasel in the face."

Hermione started laughing too, of course Draco would be grateful that she threw a punch. She knew she was being irrational and once the shock of the past week wore off, she would be okay. Their laughter was broken with the sound of somebody apparating behind them. Hermione looked up and saw Harry enter the room, his face stony.

"Alright Harry?" Draco asked, noting the look on Harry's face.

"Not really." He said, sitting opposite them. "We've just arrested the people responsible for your attempted murder."

Hermione felt Draco's grip on her tighten a little. "Who did this?" she asked.

"There's no easy way to say this. Fuck." Harry said, looking directly at Draco. "It was your parents mate."

They were not the words Draco expected to hear. "What? My parents? Both of them?" he stammered, looking at Harry is shock.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry mate."

"How?"

"Your mother received an owl from Borgin and Burkes saying they were in possession of her sisters knife." Harry explained. "She went and bought it. Then along with your father, they recruited Theodore Nott into attacking you."

Draco sat in silence. How could they do this to him? Especially after the steps they had taken recently in building a better relationship. Draco knew his father would never be happy with the choices he made, but he expected more from his mother. This did explain why they were nowhere to be found while he lay fighting for his life. Any parent would be by their child's side, any parent but his.

"But Narcissa came forward when Lucius made a threat towards me?" Hermione stated, not believing what she was hearing either.

"Because she knew that any attempt on you would be high publicity." Harry said. "She told us that because it was Draco, it wouldn't be such a big scandal."

"How could they do this to me?" Draco asked, his eyes pleading with Harry for an answer.

"According to them, you were better off dead than being the man you are now." Harry told him, looking like he'd rather say anything than that sentence.

Draco sat there in shock. That conversation he had with his mother in this very room was all a lie. The conversation he had with his father in the Ministry was all a lie. They would rather him dead than live a life that he could be proud of, a life where he is happy and in love.

"I need to see my mother." Draco said after while.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked him.

"I need to do this." He told her, giving her a quick kiss. "Everything will be fine."

* * *

Draco and Harry walked through the corridor in the lowest floor of the Ministry that led to the prison cells. Since the Malfoys' trial would begin in the coming days, they were being held here before being transported to Azkaban. Draco was readying himself for what he was going to say to his mother, the person who gave him life but was also prepared to take it. They approached the end of the corridor with three doors at the end. Harry pulled out his want and pointed it to the one on the left.

"I have to be in there with you." Harry told Draco. "You ready?"

Draco nodded, thinking he would never be ready to face what was waiting for him on the other side of the door. Harry waved his wand and the door opened. The two men walked in and saw Narcissa sitting at a table reading a book. She looked up from her page and saw Draco and Harry standing before her, no emotion on her face.

"What bring you here?" she asked calmly, like they had just walked into her home.

"I need some answers." Draco said, looking at the woman before him and feeling anger start to burn in his chest. "Why did you do this?"

"It was the only way." She told him flatly.

"The only way for who?" he growled at her, his hands balling into fists.

"Your father and me." She explained nonchalantly. "Imagine our shame in you. Working to imprison those who you grew up with. Being close friends with the person who defeated the Dark Lord and destroyed our way of life. Not to mention being involved with a Mudblood who thinks she knows you better than your parents do."

"She does." He told her, feeling disgusted at his mothers words. "You would wish me, your only son, dead than living a life where I am happy?"

"You're delusional." Narcissa spat at him. We did everything we could as parents to guide you to a life where you would sit above all."

"And not free to make my own choices!" Draco yelled back at her. He felt Harry place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "What about that discussion we had that day in my house?"

"I had to say something to allow you to drop your guard around us." She said, turning back to her book.

Draco shook his head, the woman is delusional. His parents has been planning his murder for months and he had no idea. "Why Theo?" he asked, trying to figure that part out.

"He wanted revenge." Narcissa told him. "You unfairly prosecuted his family and he was willing to do anything to avenge them."

Draco had had enough, there was no making sense of her words. Maybe once he wanted his parents to be a part of his life again, to show them that he had made it, that he was able to change himself and was now a man he could be proud of and look at in the mirror. Draco turned to Harry and nodded towards the door.

"One day you'll see we were right son." Narcissa called out as he was about to walk out.

Draco turned back to his mother once more. Sitting in the prison cell was the woman who raised him, who lied to Lord Voldemort to protect him, but she was also the woman who helped twist his views on reality and who was ready to erase her supposed mistakes as a parent and get rid of him.

"Goodbye mother."

* * *

Hermione was anxiously pacing across the floor waiting for Draco and Harry to return. They had been gone for nearly two hours, they couldn't possibly be much longer. Hermione felt a surge of relief when she heard the front door close announcing their arrival. Harry came in first, shaking his head discreetly at her, letting her know he wasn't doing so well. When Draco came in to the room, she went forward to hug him, but he held his arms out to keep her away. Taken aback by his actions, Hermione moved back and stood next to Harry, watching Draco as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Draco, are you alright?" Hermione asked, her voice full of love and concern.

"Am I alright?" Draco repeated, pouring himself a firewhisky and downing it in one.

Hermione and Harry just stood there, not really sure what to say or do. His silence was unsettling. Then suddenly and without warning Draco threw his glass against the wall. Hermione and Harry jumped in fright and moved back. Draco seemed to unleash all of the anger he has built during his visit with his mother. He picked up the whisky bottle and threw that as well, followed by anything he could get his hands on. Hermione and Harry retreated further away from Draco as he continued to destroy the kitchen. Hermione noticed Harry had a grip on his wand, ready to use it against Draco if he went any further.

All they could do was watch as Draco became more unhinged, picking up chairs and throwing them across the room or through the sliding door as he screamed. Hermione gripped on to Harry tighter. She had never imagined Draco would react like this, she never thought she would be genuinely frightened. Hermione now understood what the healer meant that he would have trouble controlling his emotions, but that didn't make it any less frightening.

The last straw came when Draco picked up a glass ornament and threw it in Harry and Hermione's direction. They ducked and it hit the wall and shattered behind them. Harry stood back fired a Petrificus Totalus at Draco, finally causing him to stop his violent rampage. Carefully stepping over the wreckage that was once a kitchen and dining room, Harry and Hermione made their way over to Draco who lay as still as a statue on the floor, the only noise coming out of him were his quick breaths. Leaving him on the floor, Harry and Hermione waved their wands and began to repair all of the damage Draco had done. Once everything was back to how it was pre-meltdown, Harry waved his wand and released Draco from the charm before helping him up.

"Feel any better?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows at Draco.

"No." Draco admitted sheepishly. He knew he had crossed the line, he shouldn't have kicked off like that but it was like he couldn't control himself. After learning all he had today he just couldn't take it anymore, his life had been destroyed so he wanted to destroy something. He looked over at Hermione. She was standing over the other side of the room, arms folded across her chest with her wand held tightly in one hand and nervously biting the fingernails of the other. Draco felt mortified with himself, after all she had done for him this week and how far they'd come together, after she agreed to spend the rest of her life with him, this is what he does. Destroys their home and hurls something across the room in her direction. After a few attempts to explain himself but no words coming out, Draco gave Hermione a sad look at retreated upstairs.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione.

"I will be." She told him, putting her wand on the counter.

"I hate to do this but I've got to go." Harry said, walking over and giving her a hug. "If you need anything, just come over or send a patronus."

Hermione smiled and thanked Harry for all he had done before he left. She stood in the kitchen, reflecting on what had just happened how wondered if this week could get any worse. With all of her Gryffindor courage, she walked upstairs and into their bedroom where she could head the shower running in the ensuite. Careful not to make a noise, Hermione crept into the bathroom. He had his back to her, his hands pressed against the wall as hot water cascaded down his back. Hermione undressed and stepped into the shower with him.

Silently she grabbed the bar of soap and began to wash him, hoping that all of his pain and hurt would was away too, but still he didn't look at her. Hermione carefully manoeuvred around so she was forcing him to look at her, his eyes closed. Hermione placed her hands on his chest, leaned forwards and kissed the new scar on his chest. For someone so young, his body had been ravaged by the war. A faint scar running diagonally across his chest where Harry had hit him with that curse in their sixth year and various little scars from where he had been struck by various spells. She grabbed his right arm and ran her fingers over his dark mark, she hadn't seen it since they were children as he always placed a concealment charm over it. Hermione kissed this scar too. Hermione looked back at him and saw that his eyes were now fixated on her, full of remorse and shame. Gently she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as the water continued to run over their bodies.

Draco reached down and pulled Hermione closer to him, deepening their kiss. She could feel him growing hard, so she reached down, took him in her hand and began to pump, her actions eliciting a sharp intake from him. Their kiss became more reverent and her hand sped up, Draco turned Hermione around and pressed her up against the wall, grabbed one of her hands with his and braced her as he grabbed his cock and entered her from behind. Hermione let out a moan and dropped her head against Draco's chest as Draco's cock slowly sang into her wet folds.

"Oh Draco." Hermione moaned, as the thrust into her.

With his spare hand, Draco reached around and grabbed Hermione's breast and slightly pinched her nipple, causing her to moan again. He slowly slid his hand down her taut stomach and began to rub small circles on her clit. Hermione's hand gripped Draco's harder as he thrust faster into her. Without losing momentum, Draco turned Hermione around and picked her up where she wrapped her legs around him as he rammed his cock into her again. Draco grabbed the back of Hermione's head and brought her lips crashing down to his. He could feel Hermione's walls start to clench, so he started pumping into her as hard and fast as he could and with one final thrust she started screaming his name over and over as he emptied himself into her. After one more kiss, Draco placed Hermione back down, turned the water off and grabbed them both towels.

Once they had dressed in their pyjamas, they returned downstairs. Draco had summoned a blanket to wrap themselves up in as they watched the snowfall with a fire crackling off warmth.

"I'm sorry for earlier." Draco said, kissing the top of Hermione's head.

"That's alright." She told him, smuggling into his chest. "Next time please try not to throw anything and use your big boy words."

"Sure thing Sweetheart." Draco said, wrapping both of his arms around her.

"Tomorrow is a new day Draco." Hermione whispered to him. "And we'll face whatever it brings together."

Draco wasn't sure what he had done in order to deserve this wonderful woman in his arms, but he wasn't going to complain about it. His parents had done their best to ruin his chance at a good life, so Draco decided that the courts can decide their punishment but his form of revenge would be to live a happy life with his future wife and any children they have and to let them see that they did not have any influence over his life anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Hi everyone. Thanks again for reading. Things have been hectic with me, I'm trying to update as often as I can in between uni work and I've had placement at a hospital where I've been working in Intensive Care – its been full on but I learnt so much! I definitely look forward to a glass of Rosé when I get home every night haha. As usual, please like my story, subscribe to my page and comment below with what you all think. A lot of you are reading it so I'd love some comments from you all xoxo_**

Hermione sat at her desk in the Ministry putting the final touches on the Quidditch World Cup before she send out copies of the rules and guidelines to every country participating. She would be lying if she said she wasn't worry to be finishing this project, Quidditch wasn't something that interested her but she understood its relevance in wizard culture and how it unites everyone, but that didn't mean she had to like the sport. Setting her quill down she glanced at the clock, five o'clock, having decided she had enough, she packed up her bag ready to go home and headed to Draco's office. It was his first day back at work since the incident and Hermione hadn't seen much of him. When she approached his office, she knocked before entering. Draco was scribbling away furiously, making notes on this current case.

"Hey." She said, taking a seat opposite him.

"Hey." He said, putting down his quill and stretching.

"How's it going?" she asked, motioning to the pile of papers on his desk.

"Yeah good." Draco said, looking at his work. "Thank Merlin I took such meticulous notes because I'm struggling to remember some of the details. That's normal right?"

Hermione stood up and walked over to him and sat on his lap. "Unfortunately yes, but the healer says it should go away in a few months."

"Hopefully because its beginning to piss me off." Draco said, sliding his hand up her skirt.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Hermione laughed, grabbing his hand to stop him venturing any further.

"I'm about to shag Hermione Granger on my desk." Draco said, leaning up to kiss her. "A particular fantasy I've had since we were sixteen."

"Sixteen?" Hermione said, looking at him like he had just said something crazy.

"I spent a lot of time in the library that year." Draco told her, his fingers creeping slowly up her thigh. "Watching you study. You bite your lip when you read and you twirl the same bit of hair."

Hermione laughed and kissed Draco, but right as his fingers touched her centre, there was a knock on the door. "Fuck!" Draco growled, here he was hard and about to live out his school fantasy when some bastard interrupted them. Begrudgingly, she left his lap and returned to her seat and he readjusted himself. "Come in."

The last person he ever expected to see come through his office door would be Ronald Weasley, but here he was and with a large bruise where Hermione had punched him thru week before.

"Uh is it alright if I come in?" he asked, looking between Hermione and Draco.

"I guess so. Take a seat." Draco said, motioning to the empty chair next to Hermione.

Ron sat down and looked at Hermione. She sat staring at him with her arms folded, her engagement ring facing him and a furious look on her face. Draco knew that look, it was the same look she had when she broke his nose in their third year, and he imagined the same look she had when she punched Ron the night he was stabbed.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Draco asked, making Ron shift his gaze.

"You guys are engaged?" Ron asked, motioning to Hermione's ring.

"That's correct," Draco said with a slightly patronizing tone.

"When?"

"New Years Eve. Right before I was stabbed in the chest."

Ron winced at Draco's words, somebody had obviously told him of his inadvertent part in the incident. Draco's guess was on Ginny, he ought to buy her flowers.

"Uhhh congratulations." Ron said, half heartedly.

"Thanks." Draco said, starting to clear away his desk. "Now if you don't mind Weasley, my fiancée and I are about to head home for the evening."

"No wait." Ron said. He clearly had something to say, but as usual, had trouble saying it. "I came here to apologise."

Draco raised his eyebrows, he wasn't expecting that, he was expecting something more along the lines of abuse for asking Hermione to marry him. He looked at Hermione, who had been oddly quiet, and she too had a look of shock on her face. "Excuse me?"

"I'm here to apologise." Ron repeated. "I had no idea this would happen."

"The one thing I don't get Weasley." Draco said, staring at him. "Is everyone knows you, along with Hermione and Harry, were given a small fortune for saving all of humanity. Why didn't you just use that to fund whatever it was you were doing that night?"

"I did take some out for the day." Ron said, looking down at his feet in shame. "But it wasn't enough. I was out with Lav and she kept wanting more and more but Gringotts was closed. I figured nobody would know I sold the knife."

Draco, much to his own surprise, felt a little pity for the man sitting opposite him. Ron Weasley had no clue how to function in the real world, he reminded Draco of a child. Sure it could be easy for him to destroy Ron, but what good would that do? He had already lost Hermione, he had no direction in life and had very little respect from others let alone himself, whereas Draco was going to marry the most beautiful thing Ron had let slip through his fingers, he was a successful prosecution lawyer and he had worked tirelessly to prove he was better than his family. From where Draco stood, Ron Weasley didn't stand a chance against him and he stood to gain nothing from humiliating him.

"How could you be so stupid?" Hermione snapped at him.

"Its not like I did on purpose!" Ron yelled back at her. "How was I supposed to know his mental parents would try bump him off? It was a mistake Hermione!"

Draco had had enough of this conversation, his day had been challenging enough without adding this conversation and he was starting to get a headache. "Please try and refrain from yelling at my fiancée." Draco said, rubbing his head. "Do everyone a favour and grow up, this is pathetic. Now Potter had told me that I can press charges against you if I desire." Both Ron and Hermione's eyes went wide and Ron's complexion changed to white. "But it was a stupid and careless mistake on your part and I think your family have suffered enough embarrassment on your behalf. Now if you don't mind, we're running late for our dinner reservations. Good evening."

Without another word, Ron got up and left. Hermione looked at Draco once the door had closed, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Harry never told you that you could press charges. Did he?"

"Of course he didn't." Draco said with a big smile. "I just wanted to mess with him a little."

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled but smiled, of course Draco would say something like that. She stood up and walked back around Draco's desk and sat in front of him, slowly undoing the buttons of her shirt. "Well Mr Malfoy. Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

* * *

"Dinner reservations?" Hermione asked, clearing up their Chinese takeaway.

"I was sick of looking at his face." Draco said, taking a sip of beer and changing the channel on the television.

With a wave of her wand the kitchen tidied itself. As she went to pour herself a glass of wine she heard a knock at the door. Opening the door, she saw Harry with his two children.

"Aunt Hermione!" James said, giving her a hug.

"What are you doing here?" She smiled, taking Albus off Harry.

"I needed to see Draco." Harry explained, taking his and James' coats off. "And Mummy is tired so I thought I'd take the rascals here to annoy you for a bit."

They walked back to the living room to see Draco asleep on the sofa. James's looked disappointed as he sat down next to him, then suddenly Draco's eyes opened and he began tickling James.

"I knew you were pretending!" James laughed, trying to wriggle away.

"Oh did you now Albus." Draco said, stopping so James could catch a breath.

"I'm James Uncle Draco." James said, sitting up next to him.

Hermione saw Draco's face falter for a second, hopefully these moment of confusion wouldn't last too much longer. "I knew that." He said, smiling at James. "I was just testing you. So what brings you here?"

"The verdict is in on your trial." Harry said, sitting next to James.

"Oh." Draco said, not really sure how he should be feeling. "And?"

"Nott got thirty years." Harry explained. "And your parents got twenty five."

Twenty five years. By the time they would be released, they would be in their seventies and he, Merlin permitting, would have raised a family with the wonderful witch sitting opposite him. Nott had been so obsessed with revenge that he had been easily manipulated by Draco's parents. Draco almost felt sorry for him, but Theodore Nott made the choice to let his former life consume him, something Draco fought tooth and nail to avoid.

"You can share my Mummy and Daddy." James said, patting Draco's leg.

"Thanks monster." Draco smiled at him and taking a sip of his drink.

"Aunt Hermione." James said as he watched her play with his younger brother. "Are you going to have a baby?" Draco spat his drink out. That was not a question he was expecting to hear.

"Maybe one day but not right now." Hermione answered sweetly. "Why is that?"

"Well you kissed Uncle Draco at the hospital so you have to kiss a lot. And my Mummy and Daddy kiss a lot too and now I have a brother." James explained.

"No James." Hermione laughed, gently rocking Albus. "Because Aunt Hermione takes a potion every night to make sure kissing doesn't lead to babies." She whispered so that only Draco and Harry would be able to hear her. Draco got up to get Harry and Hermione a drink, he definitely did want kids sometime in the next five years, but for now he just wanted Hermione to himself.

"I heard from Ron today" Harry asked, taking his beer from Draco. "Apparently I said that you could press charges against him but out of the goodness of your heart, you decided not to."

"What can I say." Draco smiled, placing a hand over his heart. "Its such a curse being this forgiving."

"What else did he have to say?" Hermione asked, choosing to overlook what Draco said.

"Not much. Just that he's going to grow up and make a go of it with Lavender." Harry said, trying not to laugh. "And I can safely say that Ginny was not too happy about the idea of Lavender Brown being a permanent fixture in our lives."

Hermione laughed, the idea of Lavender Brown becoming a member of the Weasley family was hilarious. If Ginny was unhappy, Hermione wondered how Mrs. Weasley would welcome the news. The thought of Lavender being around didn't bother Hermione though, sure she ruined her life seven months ago, but if she hadn't, then she wouldn't be sitting here now with someone who truly loved her. In a way, Hermione thought she should thank her for being a slag.

"Oh by the way, what with everything going on, I forgot to mention." Harry said, ruffling James' hair. "We're having a party at the Burrow for this one's birthday on Saturday."

"And you have to come." James said, smiling at Hermione and Draco.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world James." Hermione smiled.

* * *

Draco and Hermione were running late for James' birthday party as Hermione had to quickly respond to an urgent owl in regards to the Quidditch World Cup, apparently one team had tried to sabotage another by sending them a broom polish that would slowly degenerate the wood. A little pathetic really.

"Happy Birthday James!" Hermione said with a smile as they came through the door.

"I thought you'd forgot Uncle Draco." James said, running and giving her and Draco a hug.

"I maybe be a little forgetful lately, but I'd never forget you monster." Draco said, giving James a hug and handing him his gift.

James excitedly tore the paper off his gift, then his eyes went wide. "DADDY! MUMMY! LOOK!" he screamed excitedly. Hermione and Draco had bought him his own Golden Snitch so he could practice with the broom he got for Christmas. "Now I can be like Daddy and Uncle Draco."

Pleased that James loved his gift so much, they made their way into the living room so they could greet the rest of the family. Bill and Fleur were there with their daughter Victorie, who was growing to look more like her mother every day, George and Charlie were over in a corner annoying Percy, James was showing Arthur and Molly his gift and Ron was on the sofa with Lavender draped all over him. Lavender looked a little out of place amongst the Weasley family, but then again, it was her first family event so it would take some time to get used to seeing her.

"Oh Draco dear!" Mrs. Weasley fussed the moment she saw him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Molly." Draco smiled, letting her fuss over him. "Honestly."

"Well you know you're welcome here anytime." She told him, giving his face a gentle pat. "You know Arthur and I think of you as a son."

"And I can't tell you how much that means to me." Draco said, giving the woman a hug. It really did mean a lot to Draco that the Weasley family had accepted him as an extension of their own family. It was a comforting thought to known that they held him in the same views as Harry and Hermione. Now he knew what it would be like to have parental figures who genuinely cared about and loved him.

"Uncle Draco that's my Grandma! I said you could share my Mummy." James said, pushing in between them. "Come and play with me."

"Oh I'll definitely share your Mummy." Draco said with a playful wink at Ginny who gave him a disapproving look but went bright red.

With Draco following James outside with Arthur and Harry, Hermione sat down at the table next to Ginny who was finally returning to her normal complexion. "He's terrible." Ginny told Hermione.

"He is." She agreed, laughing at Ginny's reaction. "But I love him."

As if she was scared of missing out on something, Lavender shot up from Ron and situated herself opposite Hermione and Ginny, with a sickly sweet smile on her face. "Hermione!" she gushed, acting like they were best friends. "How are you? Its been too long."

"I've been great Lavender." Hermione said, trying to ignore Ginny's sniggering. "How about you?"

"Oh just wonderful with my Ronnie." She said, blowing a kiss to Ron.

The way she was speaking reminded her of how she felt during their fifth year whenever she saw them together, like she wanted to be sick. Lavender, much like Ron, had physically grown up, but lacked the maturity you would find in nearly every adult. In a sense, they were perfect for each other. Much to Hermione and Ginny's relief, Mrs. Weasley called for the men outside to come back in as the food was ready.

Draco, seeing both Hermione and Ginny's discomfort, smiled to himself. Gently moving Hermione and Ginny apart, he sat in between them, but rather than talk to Hermione, he placed his arm around Ginny and whispered something in her ear, causing her to once again go a brilliant shade of red.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Harry said, placing Albus in his highchair.

"Sharing." Draco smirked back at him. "James said I could share his Mummy."

"One more time." Harry joked, brandishing his butter knife at Draco. "Besides, I'm sure Hermione minds."

"Oh she can have him." Hermione laughed, pouring herself and Draco a drink. "I'm sick of picking up his clothes. It a Ginny's turn."

"Says the woman who left her shoes at the top of the stairs, leaving me to trip over them and break my neck." Draco laughed, releasing Ginny and turning to Hermione.

"I've got to get rid of you somehow." She laughed.

"My darling, not even being stabbed through the chest could make me leave you." The room went quiet, clearly they still felt a bit awkward about that. Draco smiled slightly seeing Ron squirm in his seat slightly.

"So when's the wedding?" Charlie asked at the end of the meal, motioning to Hermione's ring.

"Dunno." Draco said. "We haven't bad much of a chance to discuss it."

"How about the last Saturday in November?" Hermione suggested, taking a sip of wine.

"November?" Draco repeated.

"Unless you're busy that weekend?" Hermione responded, grinning.

"Last weekend in November is it." Draco smiled, kissing Hermione's temple.

"Ronnie and I are getting married." Lavender said casually.

If the room was quiet before, then silence this time was deafening, this was an announcement that nobody could have predicted. Draco looked around at all of the horrified faces. Arthur and Molly looked like they were about to have a stroke and everyone else looked like it was an early April Fools.

"Well congratulations." Draco said, breaking the silence and raising his glass to them. "When's the wedding?"

"June 19th." Lavender said, smiling at Ron.

That was the final straw for Draco, he could contain himself up until this point but not any longer. He started to laugh uncontrollably. June 19th. That was the date he was supposed to marry Hermione. The idiot had booked a wedding exactly a year from his first attempt. Feeling Hermione nudge him with her elbow, he got up and walked outside with her following him, still laughing.

"That is fucking hilarious." Draco laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Its not that funny." Hermione said, folding her arms to try and keep herself warm as the snow started to fall again.

"Oh it really is." Draco smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "At least it saves him from trying to remember a new date. And speaking of dates, why November?"

"Because they'll be snow and it'll be the holidays." Hermione explained, leaning up to give Draco a kiss. "And we can start the new year together, as Mr and Mrs Malfoy."

"That my dear Granger, is the best idea you've ever had." Draco said, kissing the top of her head.

"Now if you've composed yourself, can we please go back inside?" Hermione asked. "I'm freezing."

They returned inside to see everyone settled in the living room, watching James enthusiastically chase his Snitch around and Albus laughing at him. Hermione sat down on the sofa and Draco sat on the floor between her legs, drawing the attention of Albus who immediately crawled over to him.

"So where's your ring Hermione?" Lavender asked, dragging Ron over to sit next to her and Draco.

Hermione showed Lavender her ring and saw instantaneous jealousy. Hermione's ring was gorgeous. "Where's yours Lavender?" she asked, smiling at her. Lavender showed Hermione her ring and she recognised it immediately. It was her old one. It was nice, but it didn't compare to Hermione's while gold 2 carat tear drop diamond. The band was gold and the diamond was small and circle. "That's beautiful. It really suits you." Hermione said kindly, giving Draco a small pinch on the shoulder when she could feel him laughing.

"Who fancies a lads night out?" George suggested, looking enthusiastic at his own idea and wanting to change the topic off of rings.

"I'm here for another week, so I'm in." Charlie said. All of the other men agreed to go out too. It would be good for Draco to go out again, he wasn't ashamed in admitting that he had been a little housebound since New Years, it would do him some good to go out. With Albus asleep on his chest, James came over and cuddled up next to him.

"Thank you for my present." James yawned, closing his eyes

"That looks good on you." Ginny said, motioning to her two children asleep on him. "They'll be yours one day."

"That's the plan." Draco leaned his head back and smiled at Hermione, there would be nothing better than experiencing this with her. Just so long as they didn't get involved with any offspring of Ron and Lavender, then his life would be complete.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Hi! Hope you're all doing well. Sorry for not updating sooner, time has seem to run away from me. I love F. Scott Fitzgerald, hence the quote later on! Like and subscribe to the story and comment below with your thoughts xoxo_**

Draco was having a great time out with Harry and the Weasley men. It had hit him just how much he had removed himself from society after his near death experience at New Years. His life had consisted going to work, staying holed up in his office then hurrying home as quickly as possible, avoiding as much contact with other people as much as possible. However, being surrounded by his friends, he felt completely safe, and with the help of a few beers, he was starting to feel like his old self. He would never admit it out loud, but even Ron was being pleasant.

"So Draco." George said. "How's the stab wound?"

"Yeah not bad." Draco said, subconsciously rubbing his chest.

"So tell us." George said, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. "What was it like getting a sponge bath from the wonderful Hermione Granger?"

Draco laughed. "One of the best experiences of my life."

"Tell me." George said, closing his eyes.

"If you want to see me without my clothes, all you've got to do is ask." Draco said, undoing the top button of his shirt.

Everyone laughed, "Another round?" Draco asked. Draco walked up to the bar and ordered six pints. He was playing with a coaster when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked and saw that Ron had propped himself at the bar with him.

"Thought you could use a hand to carry them." Ron said quietly.

"Thanks." Draco said, not quite sure why Ron was willingly helping him.

"I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for what I did." Ron blurted out after a few moments of silence.

Draco looked at him, he definitely wasn't expecting this. "Are you?"

"I am." Ron replied, looking ashamed of himself. "I never thought it would happen."

"I never thought my parents would try and kill me, but they did." Draco said, a little coldly.

Draco looked at Ron, he really did look ashamed of himself. He thought of what Hermione would say to him right now. That he could hold on to the resentment at Ron's inadvertent part in his stabbing, or he could forgive him and move on. It would make everyone's lives so much easier at gathering if their underlying tension was gone.

"Forget about it." Draco said, holding his hand out to shake Ron's. "I lived. Lets move forward."

Ron smiled at him and shook his hand. "Thanks."

"No problem." Draco said. "Now tell me something. I was told that you did what you did so you could have some more spending money for a night out with Lavender." Ron refused to look at Draco, so he continued. "Do you really think that she is the woman for you?"

At this Ron's eyes snapped up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well." Draco said, choosing his words carefully. "Does she bring out the best side of you? Hermione makes me want to be a better man, can you honestly say the same about Lavender? Plus she's a pain in the arse and you can probably do better." Draco watched Ron as he was processing what he had heard, thinking about whether or not Draco was right.

"Hermione was better." Ron mumbled.

"You're going to have to move on from her mate. You blew that one, not that I'm complaining." Draco said. "Hermione wasn't the girl for you and either is Lavender."

Ron looked at him, they both knew Draco was right about Hermione. "Lucky for you that I did blow it." Ron laughed. "You two are better suited that her and I ever were."

"Oi!" George yelled across the bar. "What's taking so long?"

Ron smiled at Draco as they collected their drinks and headed back towards the group. Draco couldn't help but wonder if this was the start of the most unlikely friendship.

* * *

Hermione wrapped herself up in a blanket as she sat on the sofa watching a movie, Draco wouldn't be home for hours so it allowed her plenty of time to watch Midnight in Paris in peace. She was glad that Draco was having a night out with Harry and the Weasley's. She couldn't help but feel a little blessed, she had the love of a wonderful man despite their school enmity and he had been welcomed by those she considered family.

She woke to the sound of the front door slamming, she didn't feel herself drift off but she looked at the clock where is read three and her movie was long since over. She watched the front hall as Draco slowly stumbled his way down, removing his shoes and jacket and leaving them where they fell. Draco saw her on the sofa and gave her a drunk smile before stumbling over and collapsing on top of her.

'Did you have a good night?" she asked, smiling and brushing hair out of his eyes.

'I did." He slurred. "Even dear Ronald was pleasant tonight and we had a little chat too."

"Well isn't that nice." She smiled. "What did you two chat about?"

"Well he apologised for being a bastard." Draco said rather matter-of-factly. "And then we talked about Lavender and how she's a pain in the arse and then how lucky I am that he blew it with you."

Hermione agreed with Draco, she was very lucky that her relationship with Ron ended, otherwise she might have been stuck married to someone who couldn't love her like she needed to be.

"I know the exact two moments I fell in love with you." Draco said, gently tapping her nose.

"Oh really?" Hermione asked, curious to know when. "Pray do tell Mr Malfoy."

"The first was when you came down the stairs at the Yule Ball. That Periwinkle blue dress and your hair was up and it was the first time I had properly seen your face." Draco said, looking in the distance, as if he could see that image right in front of him.

 _Draco was dancing with Pansy Parkinson at the Yule Ball, but like every other man in that room, it was Hermione Granger that had captivated his attention. She was absolutely stunning. The way the silk slid across her body and that shade of Periwinkle blue was the perfect colour to her pale skin and dark hair. Draco noticed that her hair was up and no longer in that bushy mane that he had come to taunt her with every day. Instead it was sleek and in a stylish knot. Draco found himself staring at her face for the first time. She had a beautiful smile and kind eyes. For the first time, Draco found himself looking at her rather than humiliating her._

 _He felt a pang of jealousy as he watched her dance with Viktor Krum. Draco found himself wishing that he had asked her, but then remembered who he was and who she was. There was no way on this earth for them to accompany each other anywhere. He noticed that she had stopped dancing with Krum and was talking to Potter and Weasley. Judging by the terrible look on Weasley's face, he was being horrible to her. How could someone be so horrible to someone so lovely? He watched as she stormed off and over to get herself a drink. Draco stopped dancing with Pansy and said he was going to get her a drink._

 _The closer he got to Hermione Granger, the more he became intoxicated by her. He could smell her perfume, a mixture of Jasmine and Roses. She had small crystal flowers placed carefully in her hair, winking at him as he walked closer. It was at this moment, that Draco began to question is current life. What made her less than him? He felt a small twinge of guilt, there was no way he could be anything to her other than an enemy. Especially with what his father had told him was happening at the end of the year._

 _"_ _You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest and most beautiful person I have ever known – and even that is an understatement." Draco whispered to her as he looked at the back of her head. He would never dare say it to her face, how could he._

 _Hermione was pouring herself a drink, fuming at Ronald Weasley. She wasn't going to let his childish behaviour and comments ruin her night. As she was taking a sip, she could have sworn she heard someone whisper something behind her, something about being the most beautiful person they had ever known. Hermione turned around to see who had said that, but she didn't see anyone. She did see Draco Malfoy walking away, but there was no way in all that is Holy that he had said something nice about her._

"You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest and most beautiful person I have ever known – and even that is an understatement." Draco said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That was you?" Hermione said, shocked at his admission.

"Yeah." Draco said, getting a little embarrassed. "That was the first night I saw you for who you really were and not just what I had been told you were."

"And you weren't so bad looking yourself that night if I recall." Hermione smiled. "And what is the second moment?"

"When you set fire to your wedding dress in the garden." Draco said simply. "It was a reminder of that feisty girl I knew at school, how you were still a fighter and not prepared to take shit from anyone."

Hermione knew he was right. That night was when she decided that she wasn't going to let anyone make a fool of her again and that she needed to decide things for herself and not do things just because people expected her to.

"If you tell any of the guys that I am this soppy, we're over." Draco said, yawning,

"Never." Hermione laughed. "Come on Mr Soppy. Lets go to bed."

* * *

Draco rolled over expecting Hermione to be next to him, but found himself alone in bed. He looked at the clock, nearly midday, luckily it was Sunday. He was putting his boxers on when he heard loud voices and someone screaming his name from downstairs. He hurried down the stairs thinking Hermione was in some sort of trouble. Instead he was met with Hermione standing behind the kitchen counter only wearing one of his shirts, casually sipping coffee, while Ron was holding Lavender Brown back who was screaming his name and all sorts of obscenities.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Draco asked, confused at the scene he was looking at.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Lavender screamed, turning her attention towards him. "What did you say to Ronnie to make him leave me?"

Ron looked at him apologetically, clearly he had taken Draco's words seriously and had decided to end things with the banshee. "Nothing that he didn't need to hear." Draco told her. "You're a terrible influence and are a pain in the arse. Now get out of my house and have some self respect."

Lavender screamed again, shrugged Ron off and stormed out of the house. This wasn't the ideal way for Draco to start his Sunday, but it sure was entertaining.

"Sorry." Ron mumbled.

"Why are you sorry?" Draco said, moving to the kitchen to pour them coffees. "Its not your fault she's completely bat shit crazy."

"Would either of you please tell me whats going on?" Hermione said.

"Last night Malfoy made me see things differently." Ron explained, taking his coffee from Draco. "I was pretty much only with Lav because I felt like I had to show you that I had moved on too. But she's nuts and doesn't bring out the best in me."

Hermione was a little taken aback by what Ron was saying, but she was also proud of him for making the realisation. This seemed like the start to a new and improved Ron Weasley.

"I need to be a better person." Ron continued. "After what happened to Malfoy in January, I cant keep being the stupid wanker I have been since we left school."

"Call me Draco." He told Ron.

The two men nodded at each other. Hermione just when Hermione thought her life couldn't get any more surreal. Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley were being friendly in her kitchen, her old life and her new life coming together.

"Well, I'd best be off." Ron said, placing his empty mug down. "Maybe we could do something next weekend with Harry and the kids?"

"Sure. I'd like that." Draco said, holding his hand out to shake Ron's which he took.

After they heard the front door close, Hermione turned to Draco. "Did that really just happen or did I hallucinate?"

"That really happened." Draco laughed, giving her a hug. "You're a terrible influence on me, I'm not sure how I feel being nice all the time."

"I think it suits you perfectly." Hermione said. She put her palms on his chest, "Why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"Well I heard screaming and thought my beautiful fiancée needed my help." Draco said, suddenly aware that during that whole fiasco he was only wearing his Calvin Klein's.

"Well I'm not complaining at the sight." Hermione said, pulling him towards the sofa by the elastic. "You know, the nice Draco is a bit of a turn on."

Draco laughed as Hermione pushed him on the sofa and climbed on top of him. As she kissed her way down his chest, Draco thought that if this is how she was with the nice Draco, then he would be nice every day for the rest of his life.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Hi everyone! So I've FINALLY got around composing a new chapter, so I've made it a long one. So sorry for the delay! I'm obsessed with the soundtrack from the Greatest Showman at the moment, Hugh Jackman is just amazing (as he always is!). As usual, please like my story and leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below xoxo .Granger12 (p.s sorry for the long flashback)_**

As January was drawing to a close, Draco couldn't shake this feeling like he was supposed to be going somewhere and it was frustrating him. He definitely knew he was doing something or going somewhere with Hermione, but that's all he knew. It had only been three weeks since he nearly died, and Draco knew it would be a long while before he fully recovered, but the memory elapses were starting to wear him down. Hermione had come home the other day with a chalkboard for him to write stuff down at home and a diary for when he is at work, it was a wonderful idea and it had reduced his frustrations slightly. Giving up on trying to remember, he decided to just ask Hermione next time he saw her. She'd been gone for the past two days doing her final inspections for the Quidditch World Cup before the unveiling to the public and ticket started to sell.

Hermione was coming home tonight and he was so excited to see her. This was the longest they had been apart since they first got together. Draco smiled and started counting down the hours until he could see her face.

* * *

Hermione groaned as she shut the door behind her. The past two days were terrible, she had to amend the posters because nobody bothered to spellcheck their words and she had to make some last minute anti-muggle security reinforcements after a couple accidentally stumbled across the site. When she turned around, she noticed the passageway was illuminated by tea light candles and there was a carpet of petals welcoming her home. She smiled as she walked up the passageway and into the kitchen where there were hundreds of candles all around the room with Draco standing in the middle, holding an enormous bunch of red roses.

"What's all this?" Hermione asked, putting her bag down and walking over to Draco.

"I missed you." He told her, giving her the flowers.

"I missed you too." Hermione said.

Draco sat Hermione down at the table and brought over what he had cooked, linguine with samphire, prawns and lobster and a bottle of champagne. "Draco, this is wonderful." Hermione gushed after her first mouthful.

"Thank you darling." Draco said, pouring the champagne. "Just a small token of my love."

"You have no idea how glad I am to be home." Hermione told him, reaching over and taking his hand.

"About as glad as I am to have you home." Draco said, squeezing her hand.

After dinner was done, Draco told Hermione to close her eyes as he carried her up the stairs. Giggling slightly as he did, Hermione wondered what on earth he had planned. When he told her to open her eyes, she was greeted by the most magnificent sight, Draco had run a milk bath that too had rose petals and lavender dancing across the surface and that this room too was filled with candles. Draco gently out her down and slowly began to take her clothes off, every touch was making her tremble and her breathing had increased. She gently reached up and also began to undress him, the only sounds were their breathing and the gentle crackling of the candles. Once they were both completely naked, Draco led her into the warm water where he lay down and she lay with her back on his chest.

He picked up her hands and began to gently massage her fingers and moving all the way up to her neck. Hermione leaned forward as Draco's hands gently massaged away all the stress and tension from the past two days. Carefully he pulled her back towards his chest as his hands slowly made their way to her breasts. Hermione let out a gentle sigh at his touch, she placed her hand over his and guided it down to the part of her that ached for his touch, as their fingers found her slit, she guided Draco's hand in touching her. Draco could feel himself grow hard as Hermione used his fingers to touch herself. As her breathing increased, so did Draco's fingers, sliding across her clit and inside her warm, silky entrance. As her back began to arch, Draco knew it wouldn't be long until she climaxed, so he increased the speed his fingers were circling her clit. She grabbed his hand as she cried out his name, to Draco there was no better sight than watching her experience such pleasure at his doing so. While she composed herself, Draco climbed out the bath and put on a bathrobe attempting to disguise his erection. He walked over to her and held out a robe for her too.

She put it on and noticed that he had it monogrammed. "HM?" she asked him.

"Hermione Malfoy." He said, winking at her and leaving the room.

Hermione Malfoy. That was the first time either one of them had said that, changing her name was something she hadn't thought about, but now that it had been verbalised it was something she couldn't wait to do. She walked into the bedroom and saw Draco was lying on the bed, stark naked and still hard. Hermione removed her robe and climbed on top of him, moaning as she felt his cock deep inside her. Draco tried to turn so she was underneath him, but she wouldn't let him. She kissed him hard as she slowly sank down the full length of his cock.

"Oh sweet Merlin." Draco moaned, his eyes rolling back into his head. He placed his hands on her hips and encouraged her to move faster.

Hermione could feel herself start to clench around him again, so it was then that she rolled on to her back. Draco started slamming in and out of her, the sight of her wriggling underneath him was almost too much.

"Oh yes Draco!" she screamed. "Fuck me hard! Fuck your wife!"

At her words Draco couldn't contain himself, with one hard thrust he emptied himself inside of her and cried out her name and his love for her. Unable to hold himself up anymore, he collapsed next to her where she wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her chest.

"My wife." Draco said, planting a kiss over her heart.

Hermione smiled. "So I saw a note on the chalkboard, it just says 'ask Hermione', what is it?"

He was so excited to see her when she got in that he forgot to ask her at dinner. "I've been having this feeling lately that we're supposed to go somewhere. Like I'm taking you somewhere, but I can't remember where."

"Paris." Hermione told him as she stroked his hair. "We're going to Paris on Valentines Day."

"No I don't like that." Draco told her. "Lets go next weekend."

"Really?" Hermione asked, unable to contain the excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, sure." Draco said.

They lay there in silence for a while, two days doesn't seem like a long time, but for them it felt like an eternity. Draco could feel himself starting to fall asleep in her embrace when she asked him a question.

"Draco. How many women have you been with before me?"

Draco looked up at her. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno." She said, looking embarrassed.

Draco shifted so that he was lying next to her. "Why are you asking this?"

"I don't know." Hermione repeated, not looking at him. "I'm just curious. The rumours about you at school being the Slytherin Sex God have proven to be true"

"Well the answer is two and I'm your Sex God now" Draco told her. "Ok and you?"

"Ummm two and I had no rumours." She replied.

"Well that's where you're wrong." Draco told her. "Everyone use to say you were one of the fittest girls on our year. Some of the guys were taking bets that you could do more with your mouth than talking, a bet I'm very happy to say I won."

Hermione blushed at his words, she never thought of herself as pretty when she was at school or that members of the opposite sex took any notice of her. "Ok so was it true that you and Pansy Parkinson had sex by the lake at midnight?"

"Urgh, yes." Draco said, rolling his eyes. "We were sixteen, my first time being with a girl, and she freaked out because Hagrid nearly caught us. I have never finished anything so quickly."

Hermione laughed, "That's not what we all heard. Pansy would brag that it was ever so romantic making love by the lake until the sun came up."

"Well that's bullshit." Draco said, rolling his eyes. "I went down to the lake to get some peace and quiet and think about what I was doing in our sixth year, when Pansy came up and basically served it up on a plate. I think it only lasted five minutes."

"Who is the second?" Hermione asked once she had composed herself.

"Astoria Greengrass." Draco told her. "Just a casual thing that lasted for about a year and a half. Ok so obviously one of youths in Ron, who is the other?"

"If I tell you, you can't say anything." Hermione warned him, looking rather serious.

"Of course." Draco assured her, wondering why on earth she said that.

"It was Fred Weasley." Hermione said, fidgeting with the sheets. "Fred Weasley was my first."

Well that was a shock to Draco. He had assumed Viktor Krum or even Harry at a long shot, but Fred Weasley was a real surprise.

"It only happened the once." Hermione told him. "The night before Harry, Ron and I went on the run. I didn't know if I was going to live or die and it was nice to feel something other than sadness and fear."

 _Hermione rolled over and looked at her watch and saw it was five o'clock in the morning. Being a part of Harrys evacuation from the Dursleys last night was one of the most terrifying things she had ever done. She hated flying a broomstick in a controlled school environment, but flying on a Thestral, a beast that she couldn't see, while being chased by five Death Eaters was a completely terrifying experience. She was extremely thankful that she was with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Lord Voldemort chasing them down, firing curse after curse._

 _Resigning herself to the fact she would not be getting any sleep, she quietly got out of bed as not to disturb Ginny and made her way downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. Lost in her own thoughts as she made her way into the kitchen, she jumped out of her skin when she saw a dark figure standing by the sink. As she composed herself, Hermione was able to focus and see that the figure was Fred Weasley._

 _"_ _Goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, raising a hand over her heart. "Fred. You scared me."_

 _"_ _Sorry." Fred mumbled, not looking at her._

 _Hermione quickly noticed that wasn't himself, well none of them were really after last night. As she thought back to last night, it really was an absolute miracle that more of them weren't killed. Hermione busied herself making two cups of tea while Fred was standing there in complete silence, lost in his own thoughts._

 _"_ _Take it you couldn't sleep either?" he eventually asked, as Hermione handed him a mug._

 _"_ _Not really." she replied, blowing on her tea. "Your Mum did offer me a sleeping draught though."_

 _She stood opposite Fred, leaning against the table, staring off to the side. She was eighteen years old and preparing herself for war, a war in which there was a high chance her side would lose. In the space of a few days she had bewitched her parents into forgetting her, gave them new identities and a new life in Australia, one of her friends had been injured by dark magic, Moody was dead and she had been attacked by Voldemort himself. For one fleeing moment, Hermione wished that she wasn't a part of the magical world._

 _"_ _You alright there Granger?" Fred asked._

 _Hermione turned her head and saw that Fred had moved closer and was standing right in front of her. "I don't know." She answered honestly, a few tears falling down her cheeks._

 _Fred took Hermione's still full mug from her and placed it on the table beside her and placed his hand on her cheek and with his thumb, gently wiped away her tears. Hermione couldn't help but think how intimate this was, she had never done anything like this before. She had only ever been kissed by one boy, Viktor Krum, when she was fifteen and there was that mysterious boy had said she was beautiful, but she had never done anything physical or remotely intimate with anyone. After a few moment, Fred slowly leaned down and gently placed his lips on hers._

 _Hermione was shocked, she didn't expect him to kiss her. As soon as their kiss started, it was over. Fred pulled away, looking a bit shocked and embarrassed by what he had done._

 _"_ _I'm sorry." Fred said. "I don't know what came –"_

 _He was cut off by Hermione kissing him. She wasn't sure why she kissed him again, maybe it was because for the first time in a few days where she felt something other than fear or sadness. Slowly, the kiss deepened. Fred's hands moved onto the small of her back and the other was nestled in the curls on the back of her head. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him as close to her as he could be. As Fred slowly started to move his hand up her spine and towards her breast, they both heard a creak come from the staircase. They quickly sprang apart and tried to compose themselves as best could before their intruder saw them._

 _In the days leading up to Bill and Fleurs' wedding, everyone had become so busy. The Weasley's were making the final preparations for the wedding and Hermione was making the final preparations for when she, Harry and Ron were going to set off on their hunt for Horcrux's. Hermione hadn't been alone with Fred since the night they kissed, there had only been fleeing touches and stolen kisses in passing._

 _The day before the wedding, Hermione found herself with a rare moment that the Burrow was completely empty. The Weasleys and Harry were out playing Quidditch in the field and Molly and Fleur were out picking flowers for the reception. She decided to have a long shower and make the final check on the supplies she had for their journey. She stepped out of the bathroom and immediately bumped into Fred who had blood all down his shirt._

 _"_ _What happened to you?" she asked, motioning to the blood._

 _"_ _Bludger hit me in the nose." He smiled. "I'm just grabbing a clean shirt."_

 _He made his way up stairs, Hermione behind him as she was heading to Ginny's room. At the landing, he stopped, turned, pinned Hermione to the wall and began to kiss Hermione the same way they did that night in the kitchen. His hand managed to find her breast and at his touch Hermione let out a soft moan. She felt a tingle in between her legs and herself getting wet. They broke apart, both breathing heavy and Fred's hand still on her chest. With her feelings about the war and the possibility that she might not survive her journey, Hermione grabbed his hand and led him into his bedroom._

 _Fred locked the door and for added caution, Hermione charmed the landing to make a noise if someone was approaching. Hermione moved forward and removed his shirt as he undid the zipper on the back of her dress and let it fall to the floor. She started undoing his trousers as he guided her towards the bed. She took off her bra and underwear as she lay down on the bed. It was now, for the first time, that Hermione noticed how aroused he was. She watched as he removed his boxers, freeing his erection, before climbing on to the bed. She brought her knees up and opened her legs, as he climbed on top and started kissing her again._

 _"_ _Wait." Hermione said, suddenly feeling nervous. "I've never done this before."_

 _"_ _Are you on a contraceptive potion?" Fred asked. She nodded. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."_

 _Touched by his kindness, Hermione kissed him, "I want to." She whispered._

 _He took one of her hands in his as his other lined his cock up with her entrance. "We'll go as slow as you want."_

 _He kissed her hard as he slowly slid his cock inside her. She gripped his hand and cried out a little in pain, her she could feel him getting deep inside her. Once he was all the way inside her, he stopped for a moment, letting her body adjust. After a few moments, Hermione loosened her grip on his hand and Fred slowly began to pump in and out of her. Hermione started to moan when the pain was replaced with pleasure, she had no idea she could have these sensations. Fred kissed all around her neck and collarbones as his pace started to pick up and she gripped his back, running her finger nails down his skin._

 _"_ _Oh God Fred." Hermione moaned, feeling herself get closer to orgasm. "Oh God! Yes!"_

 _Fred grabbed her hand and kissed her hard, his thrusts quickening. "Cum with me Hermione."_

 _Hermione rolled her hips to match the pace of his thrust and with his free hand, Fred reached in between them and starting rubbing her clit. That was it for Hermione, she felt her barriers come down as she orgasmed. She arched her back and cried our Fred's name over and over again and he called out hers as he emptied himself inside of her. They both were breathing heavy as their pleasure subsided. Hermione smiled and kissed him once more, thankful that she had experienced something so beautiful before the world as they knew it would change._

Draco felt sad listening to her talk about Fred, all these years later and he still felt guilty about his role in his death. Hermione seemed to notice Draco getting lost in his thoughts about the past.

"But Ron was the worst." She told him. "His idea of foreplay was tidying the house. Like I was supposed to drop my knickers every time he picked up his socks or did the dishes. I actually think I dozed off once too."

Draco laughed. "Well so long as I'm at the top of your list."

Hermione snuggled in closer to him. "I love you." She whispered to him, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"I love you." Draco said back. "Now let's dream of Paris."

* * *

With Hermione's anticipation for Paris, the week seemed to fly by in no time. They walked hand in hand through to the International Floo Network, keeping their heads down as to avoid the flashes from the reporters cameras. They both hoped the fuss around them would have died down, but what with their engagement and everything else that happened, the chances of reporters leaving them alone were pretty slim. Draco presented both of their magical passports and informed the clerk of where they would be going. Hermione had no idea, but Draco actually owned an apartment in Paris that had an amazing view of their Eiffel Tower.

"Paris. Fireplace six." The clerk said, handing them their passports.

Hermione linked her arm with Draco, excited for their first trip away as a couple. Draco hadn't told her too much about where they were staying, but she knew it was close to the Eiffel Tower. She would be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see Paris, it was her favourite city. The atmosphere, the people, the culture, Hermione loved it all. Even though she hadn't been since she was a girl, she was looking forward to showing Draco some of her favourite places.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Draco say the address of where they were staying as they stepped into the fireplace. With a sudden burst of green flames, they disappeared from London and just as quick, arrived at their destination. They stepped out of the fireplace and into the bedroom and Hermione was in awe of the room. The apartment had the typical Parisian décor, she ran over to the window and was amazed to see that the whole apartment was quite high up and had a view of the Eiffel Tower and the gardens.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Its perfect." She gushes, still admiring the view

"Well here you are then." He simply, presenting her with a vintage key.

"What's this?" she asked, taking the key and looking confused.

"This apartment." Draco said, turning her around to, face him. "Its mine, well ours."

Hermione squealed and hugged him, this was perfect. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would have an apartment in Paris. "This is perfect Draco."

"You're perfect." He said, kissing the tip of her nose. "Now, let's get changed and go exploring."

Draco had changed into jeans, a shirt and a blazer and he had time to drink a glass of red wine by the time Hermione was ready. She came out in skinny jeans, brown knee high stiletto boots, a white shirt and a long dusk pink knee length coat. As usual, she took Draco's breath away.

"Are you sure you're going to be comfortable in those shoes?" Draco asked as they headed out of the apartment and onto the street.

"Oh please." Hermione laughed. "You don't think I've already placed several cushioning charms on them."

They walked arm in arm through the streets of the city. Draco could actually feel himself relax, people weren't looking at them or asking questions or taking photographs. It was almost like they were a regular muggle couple. As the sun begin to set and the rain clouds moved in, they enjoyed a typical French meal and a lot of wine before making their way to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

"Oh Draco. This is perfect." Hermione said, taking in the views of the city at night as she leaned against the rail.

"It really is." Draco said, not looking at the view, but at Hermione's face. "I really do love you. I don't tell you often enough, but I am completely in love with you."

"You tell me that all the time." She smiled, moving around so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"My past life made me feel like I did not deserve this." Draco, told her, looking straight into her eyes. "But I have changed for the better and its all because of you andante Potters. So believe me that I do not tell you as often as I should just how much I love you, because you gave me hope when it was lost and the strength to journey on and become a better man. You are perfect to me and I love you."

Hermione beamed up at him. In the seven months since they had come into each other's lives, Draco had transformed into a man with such dignity, pride and passion. "I am so proud of you." She told him. "You've become the man you were always supposed to be. And although I had an intimate experience with Fred and a lousy experience with Ron, there is nobody else I would rather spend the rest of my life with. You are perfect to me and I love you."

Draco leaned down and kissed her, trying to convey all of his love and admiration for her. He would do anything for her, if she told him to jump, off the Tower, he probably would do it. As they made their way back down the tower, Draco thought how sickening they must look to other people – the two of the wrapped up in one another, kissing and whispering sweet nothings to one another – hell, if he saw someone like that he's probably find it revolting, but he really didn't care.

It had just started to rain as they began their walk back so Draco discreetly transfigured a stick into an umbrella to protect them from the wet. They did stop and look at the Tower as it exploded in a beautiful strobe light display. Draco pulled Hermione close to his chest and kissed the top of her head. For both of them, life couldn't get any better. By this time next year they would be man and wife, and with any luck, two would soon be three.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Hi everyone. Another chapter, yay! Thanks again to all of you reading this story. If you have any thoughts, opinions or comments, please leave them in the comment section below. I'd love to know what your thoughts are xoxo .Granger.12_**

A few weeks after their weekend in Paris, Hermione decided to start throwing herself into planning their wedding. They already had the date picked, November 24t and she had dropped off a folder of venues and other ideas to Draco's office a moment ago. Hermione knew that this time was going to be different. As she walked down the corridor, Hermione suddenly had the urge to be sick and she felt light headed. This had been happening to her a lot recently, so Hermione decided to make an appointment at St Mungo's, just to be on the safe side.

Meanwhile Draco was walking through Diagon Alley having dropped off documents at Gringotts bank. Draco was just about to enter Flourish and Blotts to surprise Hermione with something when he heard his name being called. He turned around, only to see Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass walking his way and he visibly groaned at the sight of them.

"Astoria. Pansy." Draco said politely.

"Draco it's been far too long." Astoria smiled.

"We hear you're engaged to the filthy know-it-all Granger." Pansy sneered, getting straight to the point.

"You heard right." Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Your point?"

"Friends with Potter and the Weaselys. Shacked up with a muggleborn." Astoria piped up. "They're devastated at what you've become.

"They had me stabbed through the heart." Draco stated bluntly. He did not give two flying fucks what his parents feelings were about who he is. They lost the right to be his parents the moment they organised his attempted murder. "And how would you know my parents feelings?"

"Because we've been to see them. This whole thing has been blown out of proportion" Pansy said, rubbing his arm. "They only want what's best for you."

"Well what's best for me is for them to remain out of my life." Draco said through gritted teeth and pulling his arm out of Pansy's reach. "And you two."

Pansy signed. "I can see this is a conversation for another day. Let's go Astoria."

"Well if you change your mind, here's where we live." Astoria said, handing Draco a piece of paper with an address written on it and kissing his cheek.

Draco scrunched up the paper and threw it on the ground, showing them that he was in no way interested in associating with them.

"Oh and Draco. One more thing." Pansy said, moving close so only he could hear her and an evil grin across her face. "Do you really think that mudblood Granger would want to be anywhere near you if she _really_ knew what you got up to during the war? What you're really capable of?"

Draco's eyes widened. There were things he hadn't told Hermione, things he had done. Pansy winked at him as she and Astoria walked through the small crowd of people that had gathered to watch the exchange, leaving Draco filled with terror and dread about what he could lose.

* * *

Back at his office, Draco was flicking through the enormous folder Hermione had just dropped off, trying to take his mind off what had happened in Diagon Alley. He knew from their school days that it was her forte to do endless amounts of research and come up with as many possibilities as she could. As he was thumbing through colour swatches, there was a knock on his office door.

"Come in." Draco said, not looking up.

"Working hard?" a voice asked

Draco looked up and was surprised to see Lavender Brown approaching his desk. "What do you want Lavender?" Draco asked, closing the wedding folder.

"I was just wondering if you could sign my documents for the business I'm opening in Diagon Alley." She said, handing him a document.

Draco took the documents and read them carefully. Lavender was aiming to open a business devoted to Divination, Astrology and healing crystals. A shop of bullshit in his opinion, but she did need a legal signature and it's not like he ever has to set foot on the premises. Draco signed the document, waved his wand over it to place his magical seal on it and passed it back to Lavender.

"You're too kind. You'll have to come in when it's open and I'll tell you what your stars are saying." She said, a little too sweetly. "Wedding planning I see."

Draco saw her motion to Hermione's folder, so without answering her, he removed the folder from his desk and placed it in a draw. "If there is nothing else I can assist you with Miss Brown, then good day."

"Thank you again Draco." Lavender said, heading towards the door. "Good luck with the wedding, hopefully this one will be better than her last one. Enough people have been devastated by her."

Draco shook his head as she left, thinking that Ron Weasley had had a lucky escape from running a ridiculous shop and an equally ridiculous woman. He gave up trying to work, he had a thumping headache and he felt sick. He hadn't seen Pansy or Astoria in years and now they're set to ruin him, and why was Lavender coming to him of all people. Draco thought her choice of phrasing about Hermione was odd. Devastated. That's how Astoria described his parents thinking. Before he could think too much more, his train of thought was interrupted by another visitor.

"Draco? You got a minute?" Harry said, entering his office holding a brown envelope.

"Yeah sure." Draco said, motioning towards chair opposite him. "Everything alright?"

Harry didn't say anything as he sat down and handed Draco the envelope. Confused, Draco took it and opened it. Inside were two photographs from his encounter earlier today with Pansy and Astoria and a note. The first one was Astoria kissing Draco's cheek and the second was Draco's horrified expression as Pansy whispered in his ear. He picked up the note which read:

 _Draco Malfoy is not the man you think he is_

Draco looked up at Harry who had a sombre expression on his face. "Nothing is going on with me and these two women." Draco told him, throwing the photos on his desk.

"I believe you." Harry assured him. "I'm more concerned about why Pansy Parkinson delivered this envelope to me and what she has said to make you look like that and what the note means."

Draco felt like he was going to throw up. This had to be the worst day of his life, how was he supposed to explain what he did during the war. He had repressed these feelings for so long that he didn't know how to deal with them. Draco stood to lose everything if he confessed.

"You have to tell me mate." Harry said gently. "I'm sure it's just Parkinson and Greengrass causing trouble."

"It's not." Draco said, his voice quivering and his breathing quickening. "I did something unforgivable. I'll lose everything. I'll lose her."

Harry said nothing. He continued to look at Draco, letting him confess in his own time.

"It was me." Draco choked out, starting to hyperventilate. "It was me. I killed her parents."

* * *

Hermione lay on the examination table while her Healer waved her wand over her body to see what exactly was wrong with her.

"So how has life been Miss Granger?" the Healer smiled.

"Busy." Hermione laughed. "Between planning a wedding, organising the Quidditch World Cup and doing other projects, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day."

"Oh I hear you." The Healer laughed. As her wand waved over Hermione's lower abdomen, a green light came out the end.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.

The Healer didn't say anything as she pulled a machine forward, Hermione recognised it as a muggle ultrasound machine. The Healer placed some gel on her lower abdomen and gently started moving the probe around looking for something.

"Here we are." The Healer smiled, showing Hermione the monitor. "You'd best find some more hours in the day Miss Granger. Say hello to your baby."

She pointed to a small but clearly visible dot on the screen and there it was. "That can't be possible!" Hermione exclaimed. "How far along am I?"

"I'd say no more than a few weeks. I'd say you're due around late October or early November."

Hermione was in shock. She always remembered to take her potion though, then it dawned on her. It was the night Draco cooked dinner and they shared a bath. She usually took her contraceptive potion in the morning, but she had been away and had run out, and before she remembered to take her dose Draco had surprised her with dinner and a bath.

"Did you hear me dear?" the Healer asked, handing Hermione a cloth to wipe her stomach.

"I was a million miles away, sorry." Hermione apologised.

"I asked if you would like a picture." She said, motioning to the still image on the screen.

"Oh yes. Thank you."

Hermione apparated home, not taking her eyes off the picture she held in her hands. She sent a patronus to Ginny just before she left the hospital, after all, she is her best friend and she has two small children.

"I came as quick as I could." Ginny said, apparating right behind her. "The boys are with Mum. Everything ok?"

Wordlessly Hermione turned around and handed Ginny the ultrasound. She watched as Ginny's face transform from confusion to excitement. "Sweet Merlin! This is wonderful! Congratulations." Ginny squealed, hugging Hermione.

"I can't believe this." Hermione said, holding her hands over her stomach. "It's not too soon?"

"Course not." Ginny said, leading Hermione to the sofa. "You might have to move the wedding though."

Hermione hadn't thought of that. By the time their wedding comes around, they'll have a newborn. "This has all happened so fast. I'm going to be a Mummy!"

"How are you going to tell Draco?" Ginny asked. Hermione smiled and took the picture, writing something on the back.

Hermione opened her moth to say something when she was interrupted by the sound of Draco apparating behind her. "You're home early." She smiled turning around. "I have something wonderful…" Hermione stopped her sentence when she saw Draco and for some odd reason Harry was standing behind him. Draco looked terrible, like he had been throwing up and Harry looked heartbroken.

Draco and Harry went and sat next to their partners. Ginny opened her mouth to talk to Draco but Harry squeezed her hand. Whatever had happened was beginning to scare both witches.

"Draco, is everything alright?" Hermione asked, gently rubbing his back.

He didn't say anything as he handed her the grown envelope Harry had brought into his office earlier. He watched her face grow more confused as she looked at the photographs. He was sure he could feel his heart breaking as he watched her read the note.

"Draco Malfoy is not the man you think he is." Hermione read out loud. "What does this mean?"

"Oh fuck." Draco sobbed. "Hermione I am so sorry and if I could take it back I would. I tired to stop it but it was too late."

"Take what back? Stop what?" Hermione asked, her voice growing mire frightened. "Draco you're scaring me."

"It's my fault. I told them how to get to you." Draco said, not looking at her.

"I don't understand!" Hermione cried. "What did you do?"

"I told the Death Eaters to murder your parents."

Hermione felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. This wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible. Her parents were killed in a muggle car crash while driving to Heathrow, a drunk driver hit them. "That's not possible." Hermione whispered, taking her hand off his back.

"I swear to Merlin it's the truth." Draco said, finally looking at her. "I'm so sorry."

"How?" Hermione asked firmly.

 _It had been two weeks since Draco failed to murder Albus Dumbledore, it had been two weeks of absolute torture. Ever since he got home, Lord Voldemort had thrown him in the dungeon for his disobedience and used a variety of dark curses to torment him. He had very little food and water, no blanket, no light and no wand. At the sound of the door opening, Draco curled himself up in fear as he watched his Father come down the stairs._

 _"_ _Father! Please!" Draco cried, but it was no use. His Father didn't care about him._

 _Lucius reached down and grabbed a handful of Draco's hair, violently pulling him up thru stairs and leading him into the Drawing Room. Draco tried to put up a fight but it was no use, he was too weak from the lack of nutrition. Lucius threw Draco down at the feet of Lord Voldemort._

 _"_ _Now, now Draco." Voldemort hissed, giving Draco a slight kick in the stomach. "How shall you be punished today?"_

 _"_ _Please. Stop." Draco whimpered, shuffling away._

 _Voldemort ignored his plea and waved his wand, setting Draco on fire. This was the worst form of punishment for Draco, he was literally on fire but it left no burns, Somali that there was, was white hot pain. Draco screamed as he was engulfed, futilely trying to extinguish the flames. The as suddenly as they appeared, they were gone. Now his insane Aunt Bellatrix was kneeling over him, her cursed dagger in one hand. She ripped open what was left of his shirt and ran her blade across the scar Potter had given him a few months earlier, opening the wound again. He tried fighting her off but he was too weak. Silently he was praying for death to take him, he'd had enough._

 _"_ _I will give you one last chance." Voldemort said, standing over his bleeding body. "How can we get to Potter?"_

 _Draco couldn't say anything, he just sobbed._

 _"_ _Answer me!" Voldemort demanded, raising his voice and pointing his wand at Draco._

 _"_ _Weasley. Granger." He choked out, raising his arms over his face._

 _The curse that Draco was bracing himself for never came, rather, the wound on his chest had been healed. Draco looked up and saw that Voldemort was waiting for him to continue his thought._

 _"_ _If you hurt Weasley or Granger, you hurt Potter." He explained, sitting up._

 _"_ _Weasley is under the fidelius charm and the girl has disappeared, most likely with Weasley." Lucius spat._

 _"_ _Then kill her parents." Draco said, standing to his feet. "Lure her out. Make it look like an accident."_

 _The room went silent, everyone was waiting for a command from Lord Voldemort. Draco figured he had a 50/50 chance of leaving this room alive._

 _"_ _Lucius. Bellatrix." Voldemort said, "I think it's time you pay Mr and Mrs Grainger a visit._

Draco looked at Hermione but he couldn't read her expression. "As soon as I could I left to find them. I tried to stop it, but I was too late. Hermione please, I'm so sorry." He reached for her hands but she pulled them away, recoiling from his touch. Without a word, Hermione got up and walked up stairs.

"Oh Draco." Ginny signed, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." He cried, planting his face in his hands.

"How did this happen?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Pansy dropped this off at my desk today." Harry explained. "She said it was something from Lucius and left. So I went to Draco and asked him."

"And you decided to tell her?" Ginny asked.

"How could I continue to look at her every day knowing that this is about to come out." Draco whispered. "I have repressed what I did ever since she came back into my life. I have tried to atone for what I did as a boy."

Their conversation was interrupted by Hermione coming back down the stairs. Draco noticed she had her beaded bag in her hand. "Hermione! Please stay! We can talk –"Draco started to beg.

"I can't even bare to look at you right now." Hermione said calmly.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked her.

"Anywhere you're not." She snarled and without another word she disapparated leaving Draco alone with Harry and Ginny.

Draco walked over to the kitchen benchtop and saw that she had left her engagement ring sitting on top of a grainy black and white picture. Not quite sure what it was, Draco turned it over and saw Hermione's familiar handwriting.

 _I might be a surprise but I can't wait to meet you Daddy! Love, your little Poppy seed._

Draco turned the picture over again, this couldn't be what he thought it was. He held the picture up to Harry and Ginny. "Is this what I think it is?" he choked out.

"She found out a couple of hours ago." Ginny told him quietly.

"I'm going to be a Daddy?" he asked, looking at the two of them. Ginny nodded her head.

"What have I done?" he whispered, tracing the picture with his fingers.

* * *

After she left Draco, Hermione apparated to the Burrow. If there was one person she needed a hug from right now, it was Mrs Weasley. Hermione was sitting on the sofa, wrapped in Mrs Weasley's arm telling her everything that Draco has confessed to.

"I just don't know what to do." She cried, holding onto her mother figure.

"You just cry, love." Mrs Weasley told her, holding her and gently rubbing her back.

Hermione just sobbed and sobbed, unleashing all of her heartbreak. Today was supposed to be one of the best of their life, but now she was questioning everything.

"Do you still love him?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"I hate myself for it, but I do." Hermione replied, wiping her eyes.

"Well why don't you stay here for a few days, rest up, then when you're ready, you can talk to him." Mrs Weasley suggested, pulling away from Hermione and smiling at her.

"That sounds like a good idea." Hermione agreed.

"You mustn't be too hard on him." The older woman told her. "We all do and say things when we are in desperate times."

"I held out when Bellatrix was torturing me." Hermione said.

"And you are so strong for doing that." Mrs Weasley replied. "But do not forget, you only experienced a small part of what he did and for a far far shorter time."

Mrs Weasley got up to make a fresh pot of tea, leaving Hermione to her thoughts. Torture every day for two weeks was indeed far greater than what she experiences on his Drawing Room floor and it was a miracle his mind didn't snap. Hermione leaned back and rubbed where her baby was, wondering if she would ever find a way to forgive him, not just for her sake, but for the life they had made together out of love.


	17. Chapter 17

**_I know, I know… a new chapter already! Thank you, obrigado! Keep reading and leaving comments. Your comments inspire to go on. Love as always, .Granger.12 xoxo_**

Draco stood frozen in the kitchen, his eyes permanently glued to the image in front of him. This was his child, something so good and pure that he had help create with his love. However, after his confession, he didn't even know where his love could be. Draco looked down at the engagement ring she left on the counter. He didn't blame her for taking it off, he didn't expect her to stay and reassure him after what he told her, but that didn't stop it from hurting any less. Why was the universe so determined for him to have a taste of happiness and content, only for it to be snatched away?

"Draco?" Ginny said gently, coming up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I couldn't do it anymore." Draco mumbled. "The endless hours of torture, begging death to take me. I just wanted him to stop."

"You did what you had to do to survive." Ginny reassured him. "We all did."

"But at what cost Gin?" Draco said, facing Harry and Ginny. "Two innocent people had to die. Hermione's life is ruined and it's all because of what I did. At least you lot can say you were doing it for a good cause."

"What you did, you did as a boy fighting to survive in a world that you knew was wrong." Ginny told him.

"That War brought out the desperation to survive in all of us." Harry said. "There is nobody who can say that they wouldn't have said or done anything to escape the horror of what you went through."

Draco knew they had a point. He was being tortured by the most evil wizard that the magical world as ever or will ever see. He said what he did out of desperation, desperation to keep his sanity and his life. Although he knew what they were saying was right, it didn't make him feel any better about what he did.

"I just need to be alone." He said, running his hands through his hair

"I don't think that's a good idea buddy." Harry argued.

"I'll be fine, I'm not going to do anything stupid." Draco reassured. "Go and find her. Make sure she's okay and tell her I love her."

With one final hug and reassuring word from Ginny, the Potters disapparated from his home, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Thinking back on today, Draco was sure that Lavender Brown had something to do with this, but he couldn't figure out how. Once again, this all came down to his Father trying desperately to ruin his life. Why couldn't the man just serve his sentence in Azkaban and stop trying to take everything away from him. Suddenly it dawned on Draco how he could cut Lucius out of his life for good. Draco decided he needed to go and pay his Father a visit, but no before making a pit stop at his office first.

* * *

As Draco walked down the cold corridors in Azkaban, he would be forever grateful that Harry spared him from this awful place, allowing him a chance of redemption. He walked down to the very end of the corridor and entered the last door where he saw his Mother and Father, shackled to a table, wearing their prison robes and two guards standing behind them.

"Evening." Draco said curtly, sitting down and pulling some papers out of his briefcase.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius demanded.

"Why did you tell Pansy Parkinson about that night the Grangers were killed?" Draco retorted, folding his arms.

"Do you not think that the woman has the right to know that she is marrying the man who helped murder her parents?" Lucius smirked, clearly pleased with himself.

Draco said nothing, of course the elder Malfoy seemed pleased with himself. He couldn't deny that Lucius' plan was indeed clever, finding the one thing he was keeping from Hermione and exploiting it. However, Draco knew that Lucius didn't know that he had his own form of revenge. There was a small glimmer of hope that he and Hermione would resolve this monumental issue, there was no way Lucius could resolve this.

"I'm only here as a legal formality." Draco said, drawing upon his papers. "As you both are in prison, guilty of your crimes and no sign of imminent release, I am now head of the Malfoy Family and all of its assets."

Lucius and Narcissa looked horrified at his words. They couldn't honestly expect him not to do anything after what had just happened. Draco knew nothing he could say could destroy them as much as they had him, so he went after everything they held dear and prized over him.

"As head of the household, I have come to the conclusion that in order to move forward and with the Light, there will be no Darkness associated with the Malfoy name anymore." He continued, showing them the documents he had drawn up. "I have retained rare books, such as first editions and a family history, as well as some personal and sentimental items. Items deemed safe will be sold and others deemed too dangerous will be destroyed."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Lucius screamed at him, pure rage in his eyes.

"As head of the house, I can do whatever I please." Draco replied calmly. "Now in regards to Malfoy Manor, I have decided that the building is too full of Dark Magic, violence and death. Which is why it is being destroyed and replaced with a centre that aids magical children who have been born into Muggle families or have no family and have no magical support. The profit from the sold items will be used for funding."

"You little _bastard_!" Lucius growled through gritted teeth.

"How could you do this to us?" Narcissa sobbed.

"You made a choice." Draco told her quietly. "We never had a relationship in my adult life and that suited us. All you had to do was stay away, but you decided to have me stabbed through the heart and destroy the life I had with Hermione."

"What about the money?" Lucius asked, ignoring what his son has just said.

"Ahh well." Draco smiled, this was the best part of his plan. "80% shall be donated, distributed to various charities both magical and muggle. The remaining 20% I am putting into trust for my child and any future children."

"Child?" Narcissa said, her eyes widening.

"That's right. A child." Draco said, starting to pack up his documents. "Mine and Hermione's child."

Draco could see from the look on his Mother's face that she was surprised by his news, but there was also a hint of sadness. Sadness that she was going to be a Grandmother without the chance to ever meet the child. Draco felt a small amount of sympathy for her, but she was as equally guilty as her husband.

"All of what I have told you has already taken place, with Malfoy Manor being demolished first thing tomorrow. This is the last time I am ever going to see you." Draco told them, standing up and heading for the door. "I'm sorry you couldn't accept the man I've become and treat me as your son."

"You're no son of mine." Lucks said, spitting on the ground.

"You know what Father." Draco said, opening the door. "That has to be the kindest thing you've ever said to me."

Without another word, Draco turned his back on his parents and left the room.

* * *

It hadn't taken Harry and Ginny long to find Hermione. She sat curled up on the sofa sipping her tea while she listened to what they had to say. They told her of Draco looking at the ultrasound and reading what she wrote on the back, how he was surprised by the image and how he couldn't keep his eyes off of it.

"Where is he now?" Hermione asked, placing her mug on the floor.

"We left him at home, but he could have gone anywhere." Ginny told her. "Are you going to go back?"

"I don't know." Hermione answered honestly.

"What he did was bad, yes." Harry said, taking her hand in his. "Look at what he went through though. And yes, I know what you went through with Bellatrix was horrific, but that was only a couple of hours."

"We're talking _weeks_ here Hermione." Ginny explained. "That seventeen year old boy was tortured _every day_ for hours by sadistic people."

"Neville's parents were tortured for a less amount of time." Harry reminded her.

Hermione had forgotten about Neville's parents and the damage inflicted upon them. Hermione understood the Draco's desperation for reprieve, she was just hurt that it had to come via the death of her parents.

"What do I do?" Hermione asked her two friends, wiping away more tears.

"You go to him." Harry said, smiling at her. "And you listen to what he has to say. Then you decide what's best for you and that little one."

Hermione smiled, trust Harry to know exactly what to say. "You're a smart man Mr Potter."

"It has been said once or twice." Harry said, winking at her.

After profusely thanking Mrs Weasley for comforting her and saying goodbye to the Potters, Hermione apparated home. She called out for Draco but there was nothing, he wasn't there. Hermione noticed some papers on the table and had a look through, maybe it was a note telling her where he had gone. She was surprised to see a building proposal, the Charles and Jean Granger Centre for Magical Children. Under it she saw another building order, except this one was for the destruction of Malfoy Manor and all the documents he had shown his parents earlier. Without further delay, Hermione dispparated, to see if she could get any answers at the Manor.

* * *

Draco stood far back from the Manor, a bottle of half-drunk whiskey in hand, thinking back to his life there. He couldn't recall one happy memory from the place, not one. He promised himself that his child would grow up in a house that was filled with love, laughter and happiness. He was determined not to be the kind of Father his was, even if he and Hermione were no longer together, he would be a strong and loving figure every day for this little life. Draco brought the bottle to his lips and took a big swig and with determination, he held up his wand.

" _Incendio!"_

Bursts of fire shot out the end of his wand and struck the building. Draco got the idea from Hermione, the night she set fire to her wedding dress she told him that fire purifies things. That is what he needed to do. Purify his life from all the Darkness. He had burnt all bridges with his parents, ensuring that there will be no future relationships, he destroyed all dark artefacts from within the Manor and now he was burning the biggest reminder. The building couldn't be redeemed, too much violence and death. So like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this hand will be used for something good, to help others.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" A voice yelled behind him.

He span around to see Hermione looking horrified at the sight of the burning building in front of her. Draco was genuinely surprised to see her, he didn't think he'd see her so soon if not ever again. Taking another drink from the bottle, Draco waved to the destruction behind him.

"I'm doing what you did."

"I never set fire to a building." Hermione retorted, looking at him confused.

"Eight months ago you set fire to your dress from you wedding to Weasley." Draco explained, feeling slightly drunk. "And you told me that you were purifying your life. Well that's what I'm doing."

He turned back to see what was happening. The fire had really taken hold of the building now, the windows were breaking and some of the roof had started to cave in. "People died in there. I was tortured. You were tortured. It needed to go."

Hermione walked forward and stood next to Draco, looking at his face as his family home burned. "What are you going to do once it's all gone?" she asked.

"I'm building a centre for magical children born into muggle families or without families where they can get all the magical support they need." Draco explained, taking another mouthful of whiskey.

"And you're naming it after my parents?" she inquired, genuinely touched at his gesture.

"They did a wonderful job raising you, but other children aren't so fortunate." Draco explained, turning to face her. "This is the only way I can think to make up for what I did. I can do something good."

Hermione looked at him and saw his heartbreak and turmoil. She couldn't begin to imagine how it must have felt to be tortured like he had been and the desperation he had to survive. His magical centre initiative was a wonderful idea and it could help hundreds of children. Although her parents tried their best to understand what was happening, help from a witch or wizard would have been nice.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Hermione smiled. "Thank you."

"I am so sorry for what I did." Draco said, tears falling from his eyes and sinking to his knees in front of her. "I know what I did is unforgivable but I am going to spend every day from now until the end of time trying to show you how sorry I am."

Hermione looked down at Draco kneeling at her feet. She could see how torn and broken he was over this. As much as she wanted to be angry at the man for what he did, she was understanding why the boy he was did what he did. Draco looked up at her, his grey eyes bloodshot and silently pleading with her. He lifted up his hand and placed it gentle where their baby was growing, Hermione placed her hand over his and gave it a soft squeeze.

"Let's go home." She said, lightly pulling him to his feet.

Draco stood up and threw his now almost empty whiskey bottle in the direction of the fire in front of them. With a wave of his wand, Draco extinguished the flames, leaving nothing but the charred husk of his childhood smoking in the dark. Making sure he gripped her tight, Draco apparated them home.

"Where did you go?" Draco asked, releasing her from his grip.

"I went to Molly Weasley." Hermione told him, sitting down in the living room.

Draco said a silent thank you to Molly Weasley. Where better to go when you need a comforting hug and a good cry. Draco picked up the ultrasound and Hermione's engagement ring and joined her in the living room, only he sat opposite her.

"When?" he asked, waving the sonogram.

"The night I came home from organising the World Cup." Hermione told him, her big brown eyes just staring at him.

"I can't believe this." He said in awe. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's the size of a poppy seed." Hermione laughed. "We won't be able to find out until 18-20 weeks."

"I'd like a girl." Draco said, smiling at the picture.

"Why not a son?" Hermione asked, a bit shocked by his answer.

"I was such a little shit growing up. I couldn't put you through that." Draco confessed, smiling at her. Hermione giggled, she did agree with him, he was a little shit when he was a boy. "Where does this leave us?"

Hermione looked at him, holding the sonogram and her engagement ring. "Earlier tonight I wanted nothing more than to never lay eyes on you again." She told him, looking straight into his eyes. "However, after talking to Molly, Harry and Ginny as well as thinking long and hard on the matter..."

Hermione stopped talking at got up to walk over to Draco. Once she was in front of him, she removed the items from his hands and placed his in hers. "As much as I want to hate you… I can't." she whispered. "We all did things during the war that we wish we could forget. I understand what happened to you and I'm so sorry you had to go through what you did."

Draco looked down, unable to meet her eyes. Hermione leaned in closer and gently listen his chin up so she could look at him.

"I'm not going to deny that this really hurt, but I forgive you. I really do." She told him earnestly. "And if that offer to be your wife is still around, I'll take that too."

This is not what Draco was expecting, he thought that she would tell him that it was all over. It was beyond him just how forgiving she could truly be. "Are you sure?" he asked, reaching for her ring.

"I have never been more sure of anything." She told him as he slid the ring back on her finger. "It's just the three of us."

Draco leaned down and kissed her. She really was the most incredible witch and he thanked his lucky stars every day that he was in that muggle bar that afternoon.

* * *

After their very late dinner, Hermione relaxed on top of the bedsheets in her pyjamas while Draco took shower to wash away the smell of smoke and whiskey. She was tracing circles over her stomach, trying to imagine what this little person was going to look like. Hopefully they'll be tall and have their Father's eyes and between the two of them, this was guaranteed to an intelligent child.

"You really are one of the most incredible people I have never met." Draco said, coming out of the bathroom and sitting next to her.

"Being upset isn't going to change anything, they'll still be gone." She told him. "If I even had a trace of doubt that you weren't remorseful and that you are a different man, then I wouldn't be here."

Draco nodded, unable to find the words to agree with her. He leaned down to kiss her and felt that spark of electricity that only she could make him feel. Cautiously he climbed on top of her, feeling her shiver underneath him. He placed his lips on hers again, deepening their kiss. He started kissing down her body, placing his lips on her collarbone, then moving to over her heart. He lifted up her top and placed a kiss where his child was growing inside her. She ran her fingers through his hair as he continued to kiss her. It was at this moment that Draco knew that whatever came at then, that so long as he had Hermione, life was good and nothing could bring them down.


	18. Chapter 18

**_ANOTHER CHAPTER! I go so long without updating, then BAM, lots of chapters. Lots of drama in these chapters lately, but I reckon this will be the last of it for a while them everyone will be all happy again. Keep reading and pretty please write a little comment telling me what you think. Love as always .Granger.12_**

It had been two weeks since Draco had been forced to make his confession to Hermione and for the most part things had been good. For brief moments there was a little tension but it quickly passed and Draco found himself doing almost everything around the house in an effort to make her relax more. They hadn't been intimate since their weekend to Paris and there had been little physical contact, Draco wasn't going to complain, but he missed snuggling up to her at night. They had booked their twelve week scan but Draco didn't know if he could wait another six weeks. They had discussed changing the date of their wedding too, as it was too close to when their child was due. So they decided to move the date till the following May, that way Hermione wouldn't be under too much stress and it allowed them more planning time.

It was a Saturday so they decided to head to the park opposite Grimmauld Place with the Potters and their two boys. Harry and Draco were pushing James and Albus on the swings while Hermione and Ginny sat on a nearby bench talking about all Hermione had to look forward to as she progressed with her pregnancy.

"You are so lucky you don't have morning sickness." Ginny told her.

"I have a little bit in the morning but that's about I." Hermione replied.

"So how are things with you and Draco going?" Ginny asked, motoring in his general direction.

"Yeah pretty good." Hermione said, looking at him pushing James. "I'm not going to say it hasn't been tough. I've just got to keep reminding myself that he was in a terrible position."

"I can't believe he set fire to his family home and gave away the Malfoy fortune." Ginny said, her voice sounding a little shocked. "That was a real surprise."

"He says that that building wasn't the Malfoy home." Hermione told her. "He said it was a prison and a torture chamber. And when I bring the next generation of Malfoys into this world, wherever we are will be the Malfoy family home."

"That's sweet." Ginny smiled. "And what did he do with all that money?"

"Charities." She said. "Both magical and muggle. He did retain 20% for our children though."

"And none for himself?"

"He didn't want it." Hermione said. "Between the two of us, we earn more than enough to maintain our lifestyle. He just wanted to put something in trust for the children in case anything happened I guess."

"Already planning more?" Ginny laughed, giving her friend a playful nudge.

"Let's see how I feel about it after this one." Hermione giggled, rubbing her still flat stomach.

"How are things between you two?" Ginny enquired.

"Most of the time things are ok." Hermione said to her friend. "Then there are other times that I want nothing more than to hit him with every hex I know."

"That's understandable." Ginny said, rubbing Hermione's arm.

"I'm just tired of all the drama." Hermione said exasperatedly.

"Speaking of drama. The strangest thing happened yesterday." Ginny said, changing the subject after a few moment silence. "I was around at Mums and she was telling on about how she's knitting a blanket for yours and Draco's baby…"

"That's so kind of her." Hermione interrupted.

"Yes it is. Anyway." Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Right as Mum was talking about how glad she was that you and Draco patched things up and how you're expecting, bloody Lavender Brown walks in."

"Lavender?" Hermione said disbelievingly. "What the hell was she doing just walking into the Burrow?"

"She claimed that she was there looking for Ron as she had left some of her things at his place when she moved out." Ginny explained. "I think that's bullshit myself, I think she was going to convince him to get back together. But when she heard mum talk about you, she turned bright red and stormed out."

"How odd." Hermione said, not quite believing what she had just heard. "Draco thinks that she had some part in Lucius and Pansy's plan."

"That seems a bit cruel, even for her." Ginny said.

"That's what I thought." Hermione agreed. "I do hope for her sake that she moves on."

"Because if she doesn't, I'll hex her." Ginny said, patting her pocket where her wand was hidden.

Their laughs were interrupted by James running up to them complaining that he was hungry, Hermione had to admit that her appetite was growing too. Draco and Harry joined them with Draco carrying Albus and talking about the latest Quidditch match.

"Suits you." Hermione smiled, motioning to Albus.

"Something I could get used to." Draco grinned back.

"RACE YOU AUNT HERMIONE!" James screamed, running off in the direction of home.

Draco watched as Hermione and James raced, this was going to be them in a few years. He had never pictured himself as a family man, Draco always saw himself as a perpetual bachelor and he had come to terms with that. However, once Hermione re-entered his life, everything he had resigned himself to had changed.

"I don't deserve her." Draco said to the Potters.

"Oh shut up." Ginny laughed. "You didn't before, but you do now."

As Hermione and James were racing home, they approached a road and with James being so small, he didn't have any road sense and wasn't looking at the car speeding towards him. Draco, Harry and Ginny all cried for him to stop running but their efforts were futile. Hermione was running as fast as she could trying to stop him but by the time she reached him, they were in the middle of the road. Without a seconds thought, Hermione pushed James out the way of the speeding car.

Draco screamed her name as her body took the full force of the speeding car. Her body rolled up and onto the windshield before the vehicle stopped and she was flung off in front. Draco quickly handed Albus back to Ginny and ran to Hermione. There was blood, so much blood. She had a large gash on her head and her face was covered in small cuts and grazes. Her right arm and right left were definitely broken from where they took the full impact. Draco looked up and saw Ginny crouching down to James who crying at what has just happened to him. Harry flung the drivers door open, expecting to pull a hapless muggle out, but to everyone's shock, the driver was none other than Lavender Brown.

"What the fuck did you do?" Harry cried, pointing to Hermione and his son.

"Now we're even." She grinned. "Malfoy took away my happiness with Ronnie… so I _finally_ took away his." Lavender let out a psychotic laugh at the scene before her.

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing, the woman was insane. As he looked down at Hermione's unconscious form, all he could picture was his future and all that he loved disappearing. All he seemed to do lately was bring her pain and suffering. Lavender had obviously had some kind of mental breakdown, but that didn't stop Draco from wanting to tear her limb from limb.

"Get her out of here!" Ginny screamed, clutching her two small children.

Harry grabbed a hold of a still laughing Lavender's arm and apparated to the Ministry where she could be dealt with while Draco carefully brought a still unconscious Hermione into Grimmauld Place. Ginny raced upstairs with both children as to keep them from seeing Hermione and returned with an armful of different potions. Draco sat with Hermione's head in his lap, holding her still as Ginny administered different healing potions. Blood replenishing potions and Draught of Peace were all Draco saw. She also waved her wand and cleared away the blood and healed all her cuts and broken bones. If they hadn't know what had happened, Hermione just looked like she was sleeping.

"How didnyou do that?" Draco asked, watching Hermione's bones heal back into place.

"Growing up with six brothers." Ginny said, smiling weakly, "Two of whom were beaters."

Ginny waved her wand over Hermione and when nothing happened she looked confused. Draco watched her do it again, not quite sure what exactly she was looking for. It was when she waved her wand over her stomach that he understood what she was looking for.

"Ginny?" Draco said, praying to whoever was listening that she wasn't going to say what he thought she was.

"I'm so sorry."

* * *

Hermione woke up, confused as to where she was. It took her a few moments to realise that this was her bedroom in Grimmauld Place from when she went on the run. She looked and saw Draco sitting upright on the bed next to her with his face in his hands.

"What happened?" she croaked, getting Draco's attention.

"You're awake." He smiled weakly. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." She winced, rubbing her right arm. "What happened?"

"Turns out I was right. Lavender did have something to with Lucius and Pansy." Draco said. "She lost the plot when Ron dumped her and she blamed me for talking him into it. It was her idea to get Lucius and Pansy to blackmail us."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew from school that Lavender was always had a screw loose but she never imagined her having a complete mental breakdown. It wasn't Draco's fault that Ron dumped her, it was a fate that was bound to happen at some point. Gingerly she crawled into Draco's lap where he wrapped his arms around her.

"Ginny said she came around the Burrow the other week." Hermione told him.

"Apparently she went around there to see if we had broken up and if she could convince Weasley to give her another chance." Draco continued, kissing the top of her head. "When she found out that we were still together _and_ that we were expecting a child, something inside of her snapped."

"So how does this relate to what happened today?" Hermione asked, trying to get her head around all of Lavenders madness.

"Turns out she's been following you for two weeks." Draco told her. "She saw you were alone running after James, so she opened a car with her wand and drove it as fast as she could into your path. Harry took her to the Ministry where she was found to be insane. I think she's somewhere in St Mungos now, locked away."

Hermione unexpectedly found herself feeling a little sorry for Lavender, the girl was obviously not well and needed professional help. She just wished that it had happened before Lavender hit her with a car.

"What about our baby?" Hermione asked, looking up at Draco.

He couldn't answer her, he couldn't find the words. He tried to shut off his emotions but he couldn't stop his eyes from welling up as he looked at her. He looked at her as she understood what he couldn't vocalise. When her tears started to fall he held her tight to his chest, wishing he could have swapped places with her. She gripped his shirt tightly as her sobbing grew and her chest started heaving. All he could do for her grief was hold her tight, rocking her slowly and telling her how much he loved her. Why did this have to happen to them? All that seemed to plague them lately was pain and heartbreak. Desperately they clung to each other, grieving for the future they might have had.

* * *

In the days following her miscarriage, Hermione and Draco barely spoke, neither knowing what to say to the other. They both had taken some time off work so they could recover from what had happened, but all they seemed to do was avoid one another. Draco couldn't begin to understand what it must feel like for Hermione to lose something that was growing inside of her. Hermione couldn't understand what it must feel like for Draco to lose something he only knew existed in a grainy black and white picture. They were going around in circles.

One afternoon they found themselves sitting in the living room in silence, the only sound was Draco's watch ticking and Hermione drumming her fingers. "Hermione. We need to talk." He said softly, breaking the silence.

"I know." She sighed.

"I'm scared." He blurted out.

"Of what?"

"That you're going to leave." He told her bluntly. "We haven't had an easy time lately: my injury at New Years, the stunts my parents tried to pull, this whole thing with Lavender and losing our child. We can't seem to catch a break. I wouldn't blame you if you left."

"If I wanted to leave, I'd already be gone." Hermione said, playing with her ring. "You're right. We haven't had an easy time lately. I just… don't know how talk about this."

"Same."

Hermione had a brilliant idea, she got up and pulled Draco outside to the back garden. Draco had enchanted it to be bigger than what it was as gardens in London houses were so small. She led him over to the oak tree he had planted and knelt at its base. With a wave of her wand, Hermione conjured up a small flower patch of white roses with a single poppy in the middle. She then picked up a stone and enlarged it enough so she could etch a word on it, then she placed it at the front.

 _Love_

"Now whenever we look into the garden we'll be reminded of our poppy seed." She said, taking his hand in hers. "This stone is a reminder that although our hearts will be heavy, we still have the love for our first child etched on them."

"You're brilliant." Draco said, squeezing her hand.

"We'll try again one day." Hermione smiled.

Draco cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. It was their first physical contact in days and the first time they'd kissed since he set fire to the mansion. He drew her closer, craving her touch. Their kiss broke when Hermione stood up headed towards the house with a mischievous look in her eyes. Draco stood up, feeling himself grow hard as her watched her walk upstairs.

By the time Draco got upstairs, Hermione's clothes were strewn across the floor and he could hear he shower running. At the thought of Hermione's naked body under the running water, Draco thought he would cum right there. He stripped his clothes off too and headed into the shower. He stepped under the shower with Hermione, wrapping his arms around her. She guided his hands down her body until his fingers were at her opening, not unlike that night in the bath. As his fingers pumped in and out of her, she started moaning his name again and again, making him feel like he was about to explode.

Hermione took his fingers out from her and slowly sucked them, tasting her essence off of him. She turned around and kissed his chest. She kissed the scar that Harry gave him, she kissed it again for where he was tortured, she kissed where the knife pierced his heart. She sank to her knees and kissed down the length of his cock before wrapping her lips around him and sucking. Gently, Draco placed his hand on her head, making her bob faster. Draco was on the verge of cumming when he stopped her and pulled her to her feet.

"I need you." He whispered, kissing her.

He pressed her back against the wall and lifted one of her legs up, giving him access to her entrance and in one thrust he was I side her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer as he fucked her. Draco knew he wouldn't last much longer, so he picked up the pace and began rubbing small circles on her clit. With one more kiss, Draco emptied himself inside of her as she clenched around him.

Hermione turned the water off and headed out the shower, not bothering to dry off. Draco watched her leave and lie on the bed, her finger beckoning him seductively. Draco looked down and saw that he was still hard. Quietly pleased with himself, he made to join her on the bed. She pulled Draco on top of her with his chest on top of hers. Hermione could feel his heartbeat against hers. She brought her fingers up and brushed the hair from out of his eyes.

"I need you." She whispered, using his words.

She held her breath as Draco slowly slid his cock inside her. As he slowly thrust in and out of her, she ran her fingernails down his back eliciting a deep moan from him. Slowly Draco pulled out of her and kissed his way down her body. Hermione let out a moan when his tongue slid up her slit. All she could see when she looked down was Draco's hands graphing her thighs and his head moving slightly as he tasted her. Hermione wound her fingers in his hair, encouraging him as his tongue explored her.

Draco loved how Hermione looked when he was eating her pussy and how she tasted so sweet. Her hips rotating and her face in pure pleasure. When he knew she was close, he stopped and moved back up her, kissing her so she could taste herself on him. He thrust into her as hard as he could, making her cry his name. He held her hand in his stroked quickened. With one final declaration of their love, they both reached their climax.

Draco climbed off Hermione and pulled her so she was resting on his chest. "I love you." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"And I love you." She replied. "We're going to be ok."

Draco knew they were going to be ok, they always were. They had gone through too much for anything to happen. Draco was lost in his thoughts when Hermione's voice snapped him back to reality.

"I'm thinking of writing a book."

"A book?" Draco asked, a little surprised. "A book on what?"

"The Great War." Hermione said, looking up at him. "About what happened and the repercussions it's still having on us all these years later."

Draco thought it was a brilliant idea. The War had so far only been a topic covered by the Daily Prophet, it seemed like nobody knew how to broach the subject and put it into a book. "I think that's great." He told her. "And if anybody has the right to write this book, its certainly Hermione Granger. Brains of the Golden Trio."

"You're ridiculous." She laughed, giving his chest a playful swat. "I actually thought some parts could be a collaboration. You know, include parts from Harry and you."

"Me?"

"Yes you." Hermione said. "You were right there in Voldemorts inner circle. You can attest to the horrors from within and how you've worked hard at your redemption. I can't."

Draco wasn't too sure about what she was suggesting. It would be difficult to put into words what he experienced during that time, however, people should know what happened.

"Okay. I'll do it." He agreed. "I won't say I'll put down everything that happened, but I'll say what needs to be said."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled, snuggling in closer to him.

As Hermione fell asleep, Draco couldn't stop thinking about what she had just suggested. He knew that his was a story to be told, not just for her book, but for his soul. If the wizard community understood what had happened to him, the things he saw and the hurdles he had to overcome just to be here today, then the few people who still doubted him would finally be able to see the real Draco Malfoy and how he had indeed changed for the better.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Hi everybody. I appreciate and love all of you who have taken the time to read Changed for the Better. Obrigado por seus comentários! Thanks for your comments! Please keep them coming and let me know if you have any suggestions!_**

The Second of May was never a good time for Draco what with it being the anniversary of the Battle for Hogwarts. In the days up until this day, he'd been having nightmares, thrashing around in his sleep, waking up drenched with sweat and clutching his wand. Hermione was always there to calm him down, reminding him that it was all in the past and how nothing bad will happen to him while she was around. It had been seven years since the Battle, seven years since people he used to associate with were first put into prison, seven years and he was still getting requests from them all to help them get out of Azkaban.

This year, like all years, there was going to be a remembrance event on Hogwarts grounds. Draco had only been once, four years ago, but left twenty minutes after he arrived due to the whispers and stares from everyone in attendance. This year was different though, he was accompanying Hermione and he was making the formal announcement of his Centre for Magical Children. Draco sat on the edge of the bed, staring off into space while he waited for Hermione to finish getting ready.

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked him appearing from the bathroom.

"I think so." Draco said, looking up and smiling at her. "You look lovely."

Hermione had decided to forgo wearing a dress tonight in favour of a black tailored suit with a white shirt and black pumps, which she had placed a cushioning charm on so she could wear them all night, and her hair in loose curls. "We match." She laughed, motioning to Draco who was also wearing a black suit.

"Except I make this look good." Draco said, standing up and motioning to himself.

"Pride is a sin my love." Hermione laughed. "Are you ready?"

"With you by my side, how could I not be?" Draco smiled, walking over and clutching her hand before disapparating to Hogsmead.

The village was full of witches and wizards of all ages heading towards Hogwarts to take part in the day of remembrance. He could feel people stare at him as he walked hand in hand with Hermione, with a few people nodding their head in greetings. They hadn't made a publicly acknowledged their relationship, they didn't feel the need to, but tonight would leave little doubt that they were an item, especially with her engagement ring on display. They met up with the Potters and Ron to share a carriage up the familiar path to the school. They all looked out and saw the castle rising up in front of them, no matter how old they were, they still had the same exhilarating feelings at the sight of the building as they did in school.

A section of the grounds had been marked off for the occasion with floating candles, a bar and a small podium to one side. Hermione gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as they entered the area and mingled with various witches and wizards. Draco didn't say much, just smiling politely and shaking hands when necessary as Hermione made conversation. Out of the throng of people, Draco spotted Ron Weasley heading his way with two glasses of whiskey.

"Hey." Draco said as Ron approached.

"Hey." Ron replied, handing Draco a drink. "I don't know if I should be giving you whiskey."

"Why not?"

"Well I heard that last time you drank whiskey, you set a building on fire." Ron joked.

Draco rolled his eyes as he took a sip. "There's a lot of people here." He noted.

"Always is." Ron grunted, taking a sip. "You ready for your speech?"

"Definitely not." Draco said. "You?"

"Harry's doing one from us three." Ron said, looking smug. "Just got to stand up there."

"I really do hate you." Draco quipped, giving Ron a grin.

From across the room Harry beckoned Draco to join him, Hermione and Ron, who were ready to make their speeches. Draco's mouth went dry, he argued in court and made speeches all the time, but never one like this in front of so many people who would wish the ground would swallow him whole. He was grateful that they were getting the speeches out of the way early… and before he had too much to drink to calm his nerves. He stood off to the side of stage, watching as Harry, Ron and Hermione stood to say a few words. Draco also noted that all of the students and teachers had gathered on the grounds so they could hear what was being said.

"Good evening and thank you all for coming to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Battle for Hogwarts." Harry said, magically amplifying his voice so everyone could hear him. "Today we mark the sacrifice of those who gave their lives so we could have our freedom. We must continue to work together in maintaining peace and equality in our World. We all remember what happened here that day and it is now our job to ensure that does not happen again. I do not want my sons to grow up and face the same challenges I did during their time at Hogwarts, and I got up to some crazy things. We must not judge those on what they did in the past, a lot of us fighting were just children doing what we could to survive. As Albus Dumbledore once said ' _it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be.'_ So on behalf of myself, Hermione and Ron, thank you for all you have done and all that you are yet to do."

Harry's speech was met with thunderous applause, which did nothing to help calm Draco's nerves. "And now please let me welcome my friend Draco Malfoy up here to say a few words." At Harry's last sentence, the applause quickly died off, people were still unsure of him despite his relationship with Harry. His legs felt like lead as he walked towards Harry. With a comforting smile from Hermione and a handshake from Harry, Draco turned to the crowd of people and took a breath.

"Thank you for having me here this evening. Although I'm not too sure how I'm going to follow that. Thanks Potter." Draco said, looking at Harry, his comment earning a small laugh. "Most of you remember me for my actions during the War, but these three people standing behind me can attest that I really am a changed man and no longer the little shit I was during our school years. Its common knowledge that I am now a lawyer for the Ministry, but most of you aren't aware that throughout the years, I have successfully prosecuted and squashed the appeals of many witches and wizards who committed horrific crimes here on these very grounds seven years ago."

Draco looked around and saw people looking shocked at what he was saying, however there was a small group of people (mostly the Weasley's) who looked proud of him. "Which is why, that with the help of my lovely wife-to-be." Draco continued, pulling Hermione up front with him. "We have demolished Malfoy Manor will be using he land to build with the Charles and Jean Granger Centre for Magical Children. The purpose of this centre being to help children born into muggle families and those who lost family members during the War to better navigate out world."

Draco's statement was met with a huge round of applause from the crowd. He looked at Hermione's beaming face as she applauded him. He leaned down and kissed her which was met by flashed of photographers. "Thank you and if anyone needs a lawyer after tonight, you know where to find me."

The night went a lot better for Draco after his speech. He actually had people coming up to him and offering their services for when the centre was opened. It was a really humbling experience for Draco, and everybody was wishing him and Hermione congratulations on their engagement. Hermione had run off to talk to Hagrid with Harry and Ron, leaving Draco to his own devices.

"That was a wonderful speech Mr Malfoy." A voice said behind him.

Draco turned around and saw Professor McGonagall was standing behind him, smiling. "Thank you Professor." He said, smiling at her.

"If ever there was a student that has proven me wrong, it's you." She told him. "Nobody will deny that we had our misconceptions about you during your time here."

Draco had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself, he had been a horrible student while he was here. "But look at the man you have become." She continued, giving his shoulder a kind pat. "You have fought against everything you were taught and believed in. If ever a student tells me that they can't change, I'll tell them to look at Draco Malfoy."

Draco was fighting a losing battle with his emotions, its words like the Professors' that made him proud to be the man who he had become. Even through all the wrong that had happened recently, he tried to be the best man he could be, not just for himself, but for Hermione too.

"Thank you Professor." He choked out. "That really means a lot."

Professor McGonagall smiled and walked away as Hermione rejoiced him. "What did she say?" Hermione asked, kissing his cheek.

"Nothing." Draco said, smiling at her. "Ready to go home?"

* * *

It was three in the morning and the Potters and Ron joined Draco and Hermione back at their place after Hogwarts. Various empty wine bottles were gathering as they spoke of years gone by. Draco sat and listened as Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny talked about what happened all those years ago.

"We have had peace for as long as we were fighting Voldemort." Hermione said solemnly, taking a sip of wine.

"Some days it doesn't feel real." Harry said, touching his scar. "Almost like I keep waiting for my scar to burn and I'll wake up from this reality and be that seventeen year old kids again."

Draco looked at his arm where his Dark Mark used to be, knowing exactly how Harry was feeling. Sometimes it felt like he was dreaming, like this world didn't exist and at any moment, he would wake up back in Malfoy Manor surrounded by Dark. Draco was glad that he didn't have his Dark Mark anymore, having burnt it off himself one night when he was twenty, not the smartest idea as he now had a slight burn in its place, but Draco figured a burn was better than the tattoo.

"So answer me this Malfoy." Ron said, turning to Draco. "Towards the end of the Battle, after we saved you and everyone thought Harry was dead, Voldemort called you and you went. Why?"

The mood quickly shifted after Ron spoke. Draco had already explained this to Harry shortly after they became friends and Hermione had never asked him, she just accepted that he had obviously made mistakes through that period. He knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid answering this question for Ron.

"Fear. Self-preservation." Draco replied simply. "Everyone thought spotter was dead. I'd already been tortured once by him and I wasn't keen on a repeat performance. I wanted to stay on your side, but fear made me go."

"I'm just glad our boys won't get into the same situations you lot did." Ginny said, parting Harry's arm after a few moment silence.

"From the moment I stepped foot into that school there was trouble." Harry laughed.

"Yeah. Have you heard what's been happening at Hogwarts after we left?" Ron asked the group.

"What?" Hermione asked, curious as to what he knew.

"Education!" Ron laughed. Everyone else started to laugh too, of course education would be happening at Hogwarts without them there. All that seemed to happen whenever Harry, Ron and Hermione were around was trouble.

"I think the teachers are spending these quiet years mentally preparing themselves." Draco said. "In a few years' time James will be starting school. I wouldn't fancy teaching a child that's half Potter half Weasley."

"Just you wait." Harry yawned. "Mind if we stay tonight?"

"Bedrooms are upstairs." Draco said, motioning towards the stairs.

"I'll be off. Night." Ron said, disapparating.

"I know he's your brother Gin." Draco said as the two couples made their way upstairs. "But he's a right dick."

* * *

Hermione woke up early the next morning, she always woke up early after a night of drinking. She quietly slid out of bed as not to wake Draco, put on some underwear and Draco's shirt from last night and headed downstairs to make some breakfast.

As she cooked, Hermione reflected on her life over the past seven years. She had gone from fighting for her life, to getting engaged to Ron and living quite an isolated life in Scotland, to spending the last year with the man of her dreams. Hermione thought about all the drama that had happened over the past year, and although it had been somewhat traumatic, she knew that so long as she had Draco by her side, then everything would be fine.

"Morning." He said sleepily as he appeared walking down the stairs.

"Morning." Hermione smiled as he came up behind her and put wrapped his arms around her waist.

Hermione continued cooking as Draco kissed her neck. If Harry and Ginny weren't upstairs them Hermione would have no issue with jumping Draco in the kitchen. Draco, however, had no qualms about being intimate while their friends were sleeping upstairs. He continued kissing her neck as one of his hand slipped inside her waistband. Hermione moaned slightly as Draco's fingers slipped inside her. At the sound of a door closing upstairs, Draco slowly withdrew his fingers from Hermione's knickers and moved to pour himself some coffee. Hermione shot him a dirty look, but all he did was licking her essence off his fingers.

"Morning all." Harry said as he and Ginny entered the room.

Their morning was quite relaxing as they were all slightly hangover. Ginny had gone to get the boys around midday with the promise that James would be bringing his broomstick over so he could show off his flying skills. Hermione had gone upstairs to change before Ginny returned. She was just about to put a shirt on when once again, Draco snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hello." He said, as she turned around to face him and dropped her shirt on the floor.

"Hello." Hermione said back, reaching up and kissing him.

She started guiding Draco towards the bed, wrapping a soft hand around his erection and slowly pumping. "What you did in the kitchen was totally uncalled for." She told him, removing their underwear and straddling him.

"Well please accept my most sincere apologies." Draco smirked at her, waving his wand and placing a silencing spell around the room.

He closed his eyes and sunk further into the bed as Hermione slowly impaled herself on his hard member. Draco grabbed her hips as she slowly started to move against him and slowly thrusting into her. Knowing he wasn't going to last much long, Draco decided to change positions. He moved Hermione so she was on all fours, propped up on her elbows with her perfectly round arse in the air. He teased her by running his cock up and down her slit before grabbing her hips and slowly sinking himself into her once more. Hermione moaned at Draco took her from behind, his thrusts becoming harder as he saw her reach and start playing with herself. With a few final thrust, Draco emptied himself inside her. Hermione turned around and lay down where Draco collapsed on top of her.

"God I love you." He panted.

"Course you do." Hermione laughed, pushing him off of her. "Now hurry up and get dressed. The boys will be here soon."

Hermione and Draco redressed and hurried outside where James screamed their names and ran over to hug them. 'AUNT HERMIONE! UNCLE DRACO!" James screamed. "I missed you!"

"Missed you too monster." Draco said, picking up the little boy and tickling him.

"Uncle Draco stop!" James begged. "Stop! I have something to tell you."

"Oh well this must be serious." Hermione said, taking James out of Draco's reach.

"I brought a friend!" James said pointing to another little boy with black hair who his behind Harry's legs. "This is Teddy."

Hermione knew who Teddy was, how could you not know, he was the perfect mixture of his parents. Draco, however, had no clue who he was. James beckoned for Teddy to come over but the little boy was scared, so Harry took him by the hand and led him over. Once they were closer, Hermione went forward and dropped down to give him a cuddle.

"Hi Teddy." Hermione said sweetly.

"Hi Aunt Hermione." He said shyly.

"This is Uncle Draco." James said, tugging at Draco's sleeves to get him to drop to his knees too. "Uncle Draco this is Teddy."

Teddy held out a small hand, which Draco shook. Then in the blink of an eye, Teddy shook his head and his black hair was replaced with blonde hair like Draco's. It suddenly clicked for Draco, the child standing in front of him was Teddy Lupin, his cousin.

"Oh no!" Draco said, looking between James and Teddy. " _Two_ monsters?"

"GET HIM!" James yelled, jumping on Draco.

Teddy watched as James wrestled Draco, eager to join in but not sure how. Draco had James pinned underneath him and was ticking him causing James to cry out for Teddy's help. With an encouraging nod from Hermione and Harry, Teddy ran up and jumped on Draco's back in an attempt at rescuing his friend. Hermione and Harry stood watching Draco being attacked by two children.

"Well that went well." Hermione laughed.

"At least they'll all sleep tonight." Harry said motioning to the wrestle match taking place before them.

"I think he's dead now." Teddy said confidently to James as Draco lay unmoving.

"Aunt Hermione come and see." James asked, looking excited.

Hermione stood over Draco and nudged him with her toe to see if he was dead when suddenly Draco jumped up and slung Hermione over his shoulder. "THE PRINCESS IS MINE!" he yelled, running away from the boys.

"Oh no! Quick James!" Teddy cried chasing after them.

Hermione could hear Harry laughing at the ridiculous scene being played out before him and she couldn't help but laugh too. This was ridiculous, but it was her life now, and she wouldn't change a thing.


	20. Chapter 20

**_Hello everyone! Yes yes yes, another chapter! 5 new chapters! Thanks to everyone who reads my little story and for those lovely people who leave reviews, you have my heart. If people could leave reviews as well as reading that would be lovely, I put so much effort into Changed for the Better, so it would be lovely to know what my readers think and it takes two minutes. Love always, .Granger12 xoxo P.S I highly recommend you all looking up the Aria I chose towards the end of the chapter, the version sung by Jennifer Welch. It is absolutely beautiful._**

Hermione snuck into Draco's office, ready to surprise him for his birthday. Hermione pretended to forget that today was his birthday so she could organise a few surprised for him. She remembered back to when he returned to work after his accident and Ron came to apologise, how he said his fantasy was for them to be intimate on his desk. She supposed that they had already acted out that fantasy already, but there was no harm in a repeat performance. On this occasion, she was wearing a light brown coat that fell to her knees, a pair of pumps and nothing else. Figuring he would be back any minute, Hermione placed her feet on his desk and slightly opened her coat. Hermione heard footsteps approaching his office. Hermione's heart started beating faster when she could hear Draco's voice on the other side of the door, however it quickly sank when she realised he was talking to someone. She has just enough time to cover herself up and run around his desk to sit in the guest chair.

"So if you'll see Minister, the main structure of the building has been done. We're now waiting for the internal fixtures then the Centre will open within the first week of July." Draco told the Minister of Magic as they entered his office. "Hermione? What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I… I just came to get you… to review some documents." Hermione stuttered, turning a brilliant shade of red. "Good Morning Minister."

"Well it seems like everything is in order." Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled. "The wizard community is abuzz in anticipation for this Magical Centre. Please do not let me keep you."

With a parting nod, the Minister left Draco's office, leaving Hermione very embarrassed and Draco very confused.

"Care to tell me what you're really doing here?" Draco asked, sitting down and looking at Hermione who had her face buried in her hands.

"Wanting to die." She moaned, not looking at him.

"Well I would be most upset if you did." Draco teased. "Are you going to tell me or are you leaving me in suspense? And why are you wearing a coat? It's June."

Hermione didn't say anything as she stood up, her face still bright red, and opened her coat revealing that she was completely naked underneath. "Happy Birthday." She said weakly, covering herself up once more.

Draco sat there stunned, he couldn't believe she had come into his office wearing nothing but a coat. Then it dawned on Draco why she wanted to die. Hermione expected him to return to his office alone, except he had walked in with the bloody Minister for Magic and she was practically naked! Draco tried stifling his laugh but it was impossible, this was too funny.

"Oh forget it." Hermione huffed, getting up to leave.

Draco waved his wand, placing both a locking and silencing charm on the door. Hermione turned around to see Draco still sitting at his desk, beckoning her over with one finger.

"Did I say you could leave?" Draco asked as Hermione sat on the desk in front of him.

"You know I can remove these charms in two seconds?" Hermione retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"My darling. You might be my boss at home and here." Draco said, standing up and undoing her coat, exposing her naked flesh. "But I am the boss in this office and it is my birthday."

As Draco started to kiss Hermione, he thought to himself that he was an incredibly lucky man and that this was his best birthday yet.

* * *

After work, Hermione insisted that they walk home so they could enjoy the sunshine. They held hands and whispered sweet things to each other as they walked, they were the picture of romance to everyone who saw them.

"So I've been thinking." Draco said, kissing the back of Hermione's hand.

"About what my love?" Hermione enquired, smiling at him.

"Did you still want to get married in May?" Draco asked. "Or did you want to go back to our original date in November?"

Hermione thought about what he was saying. She was no long pregnant so she didn't have to worry about getting a dress big enough or having a newborn, and May was so far away. "What do you think?" She asked, seeing his opinion.

"If I had my way, we'd be married this afternoon." He laughed. "But I am happy to do whatever you want to do."

"Let's do it in November." She said as they made their way up to the front door. "We didn't have the best start to the year, so let's finish it with a bang."

"If you're lucky, tonight will finish with a bang." Draco said, playfully swatting her bum as they walked in the house.

"Oh shut up and be serious." Hermione grinned, placing their briefcases in the cupboard. "Now put this on."

"I don't know where this is going, but I like it." Draco said, putting the blindfold on.

Draco could hear Hermione tout as she took his hands and led him through the house. Draco's imagination was running wild with what Hermione couldn't be doing with him blindfolded. He was a little bit confused as to why she led him outside. Hermione stopped him and removed his blindfold.

"SURPRISE!"

Draco was momentarily shocked then his face broke out into the biggest grin. All the Weasley's, the Potters, Teddy, his Aunt Andromeda and for some odd reason Blaise Zabini were standing in his back garden. Usually Draco didn't really celebrate his birthday, so his day usually consisted of a couple of drinks with Harry then Ginny cooking him a nice meal, so this was a complete surprise to him.

"What's all this?" Draco said, grinning at Hermione.

"Your family is here to celebrate your birthday." She smiled back.

Family. There was no better word to describe the people standing before him. At least this lot hadn't tried to kill him… well Harry did that one time. Draco crouched down and help his arms open as James, Teddy and Albus came running over to him. He had formed a strong relationship with Teddy over the past month and he loved him like he did James and Albus. To him, he was Uncle Draco and when he was older, he would explain to the boy just how they were related.

"Happy Birthday Uncle Draco!" The two older boy screamed while Albus just made noise, as they gave him a big hug.

"Thank you Monsters!" Draco said, hugging them back.

"Come and open your presents!" James said, pulling Draco to a table full of presents.

Draco received a muggle Polaroid camera from Arthur and Molly, some dragon skin gloves from Charlie, a nice French wine from Bill and fleur, a paperweight from Percy, two monogrammed whiskey tumblers from Ron, a cashmere scarf from his Aunt and an expensive bottle of aged whiskey from Blaise.

"This is from me." Teddy said, handing Draco a small package.

Draco opened it, it was a coffee mug that Teddy had decorated himself. "Did you do this?" Draco asked, smiling at the boy who nodded. "I love it, I'll take it to work and use it every day. Thank you."

"And this is from me and Albus." James said, pushing another parcel into his lap.

Draco put Teddy's mug down and opened James' present. It was a black studded collar and a leash. The three boys looked at Ginny who nodded and ran off with Harry. Draco was a bit confused by James' present, holding up the collar, he turned to Hermione.

"What do you think?" he said suggestively, earning a laugh from everyone.

"I think you're a pig." She retorted, grinning and rolling her eyes.

James and Teddy reappeared carrying a box and Harry walking behind them carry g Albus. "This is from us." Harry explained, motioning to Ginny and the boys. Excitedly Draco opened the box and nothing could have prepared him for what was inside.

"This is Lord Wiggles Woofington the First!" James screamed excitedly.

From out of the box, Draco pulled out a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. It was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, he had brown and white fur and he had such a wiggly tail.

"Lord Wiggles Woofington the First?" Draco asked Harry and Ginny.

"That's what happens when you let your four year old name a pet." Ginny laughed.

"And he's got a wiggly tail." James said, carefully patting the puppy.

Draco set the puppy down so the boys could play with it and began mingling. The first person he wanted to see was his Aunt, the last family he had aside from Teddy. Here was a woman he had barely seen during his childhood.

"Aunt Dromeda." Draco said approaching the older women.

"My boy." She said kindly, placing her hand on his cheek. "Twenty five. Last time I saw you, you were James' age. You've grown."

"Just a bit." Draco said, smiling. "Thanks for coming."

"You're my nephew and Teddy adores you." Andromeda told him. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of one another."

"I'd really like that." Draco said.

His Aunt smiled and walked over to Teddy who was begging for her immediate attention. Hermione came up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I can't wait to see what you've got me." Draco said to her. "If it's anything like what happened in my office… just add the blindfold."

"You'll see later." She said, blushing. "Have you seen who Ron brought tonight?"

Draco looked around for Ron. He was standing talking to Harry and Ginny with none other than Padma Patil. "When did that happen?" he asked.

"Last week apparently." She said, looking at them. "They went to the Yule Ball together remember? Well turns out they bumped into one another in Diagon Alley last week and went out for drinks and really hit it off."

"Huh." Draco said. "Good on him. Hopefully she isn't as crazy as the last woman he dated."

Hermione was about to tell him off when Blaise Zabini approached them. "Draco! Good to see you." He said, shaking Draco's hand. "Haven't seen you since New Year's."

"Yeah, sorry." Draco said. "Life's been a bit busy since then. What are you going here?"

"Your lovely lady here invited me." Blaise said. "Thought it would be good for you to have a friend who wasn't a righteous Gryffindor."

"It would be. Good seeing you mate." Draco said to his old friend.

"Uncle Draco!" James yelled. "Come and play!"

Draco ran off, chasing the children around the garden leaving Hermione alone with Blaise. "So did you do it?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Do what?" Harry asked as he and Ginny joined them.

"Oh dear God." Hermione mumbles, her face once again turning bright red.

"Well when dear Granger invited me to this delightful party, we had a lovely chat about what she could surprise the birthday boy with." Blaise said to the group, clearly enjoying her embarrassment. "So I suggested that she wait for our dear chap in his office wearing only a coat."

"No!" Ginny gasped, looking at Hermione with a mixture of shock and pride.

"So I, as I'm sure you are too, curious to know what happened." Blaise concluded, taking a sip of wine.

"Okay fine! I did it." Hermione hissed, giving Blaise a filthy look. "But he was in his office when I took the coat off."

"And why is that?" Ginny asked.

"Because he walked in with Kingsley bloody Shacklebolt so I had to quickly cover up and wait for him to leave." Hermione said, refusing to meet their gazes.

Blaise, Harry and Ginny couldn't help but burst out laughing. Hermione would have too if it had been anybody else. The whole situation was ridiculous, it's not like the Minister saw her without clothes on. Thankfully the situation was diffused by Molly Wesley announcing that dinner was ready.

At the end of the night, after everyone had gone home and Lord Wiggles was asleep in his bed at the bottom of their bedroom, Draco sat in bed while Hermione gave him his gifts. She had bought him a dark navy Italian style suit, a new leather briefcase, some cologne and a photo frame so he could put a photo of him, Teddy and Andromeda in it.

"Thank you." Draco said, magically placing his gifts on the other side of the room. "They're brilliant. Thanks for tonight."

"I'm glad you had a good night." Hermione said, crawling on top of him, holding one more gift. "Although you do have one more gift to unwrap."

Draco opened the present and was shocked to find a pair of black fluffy handcuffs. Placing them on the bed, Draco reached up and pulled Hermione's dress over her head, revealing black silky underwear.

"Happy Birthday to me."

* * *

One year. It had been one year since Hermione and Draco had first started their relationship and a lot had happened in that year. They had decided to take the day off work, so they could revel in one another company and oversee the final stages of the centre before the grand opening next week. Hermione woke up first with the sun peeking in through the curtains. She looked down at Draco sleeping beside her, thinking on how different her life would be right now if she hadn't run away from Ron last year.

"Staring is rude you know." Draco said sleepily, repeating what she said to him last New Years'.

"I'm not staring." She said, leaning down and kissing him. "Just admiring the view."

Draco opened his eyes and yawned. "Morning." He said once he was more alert. "Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary."

They both reached around to get one another gifts. They had decided not to get each other too much what with their wedding fast approaching. Hermione handed Draco his gift, a thick white gold chain link bracelet. Draco handed Hermione her gift, a pair of pear cut diamond earrings to match her engagement ring.

"Thank you." Draco said, putting his bracelet on.

Hermione reached around and pulled another small box out from her nightstand. She crawled on top of Draco and held the box out.

"I thought we weren't doing too much." Draco said, placing his hands on her hips.

"Open it." She said, ignoring him.

Draco rolled his eyes and opened the box. Inside was a black ring with a single diamond set into it.

"Draco Malfoy. Will you marry me? Hermione giggled, taking the ring from the box.

"Seriously?" he laughed. "Yes I'll marry you."

They laughed as Hermione placed the ring on his finger. "What made you decide to do this?" he asked, pulling her in for a kiss.

"I dunno really." Hermione said. "It's just a symbol of my love for you."

"Love you." Draco said. "So what have we got planned for today?"

"Well." Hermione said, her hand sliding under the covers and wrapping around his erection. "I thought we could stay in bed for a while. Then go and look at some venues for the wedding and then see where tonight takes us."

Draco was having a difficult time trying to listen to what Hermione was saying while her hand was slowly rubbing up and down his cock. Draco rolled so that she was underneath him and he was poised in between her. "Well my darling. Looks like we'd better get started." He said as he kissed her.

* * *

For the most part, their wedding was organised. They had decided on a dusty blue and silver theme, they had finalised the menu and they had booked their reception in the Orangery at Kew Gardens in the Royal Botanic Gardens. The only thing they couldn't seem to agree on was where the actual ceremony was going to take place. So far Draco had suggested a library or Chelsea Registry Office and Hermione had suggested Hogwarts or having the full day in Kew Gardens.

As they decided to stop wedding planning for the day and head back home, Draco had a brilliant idea. He took Hermione's hand and apparated them to the graveyard where Hermione's parents were buried. Confused, Hermione asked what they were doing here.

"Look." Draco said, pointing to the small chapel in front of them. "We can get married here, where your parents are."

Hermione's face lit up, it was a wonderful idea. "It's perfect." She said, hugging him. "Thank you."

"You're perfect." He told her, kissing the top of her head. "Well my darling, let's go home. I have a surprise for you."

Draco apparated them home where he led Hermione outside. He had Harry and Ginny come around and decorate their garden with coloured lanterns, a table and two chairs, a record player was floating around playing classical music and he had organised a top restaurant to deliver a three course meal. Draco led her over to the table and with a wave of his wand, he produced a bunch of red roses for her.

"Who knew you were a magician." Hermione teased, taking the flowers.

"My darling there are a lot of things I am known to be." He said, popping a bottle of champagne.

"To us." Hermione said, raising her glass. "To my love."

The record player started playing one of Draco's favourite arias, O Mio Babbino Caro. The story behind it, a young woman begging to marry her love and her willingness for death if they cannot be together, really resonated with him. He would do anything to be able to spend every waking day with the woman opposite him and he couldn't, he feared he could not go on being without her. He put the bottle down and took Hermione's glass out of hers. He took her hand and brought her close to him. He took her other hand and put it on his arm and placed his hand on her waist then leading her in a small waltz by their poppy seed's garden.

Hermione looked up at Draco's face and saw nothing but pure love looking back at her. Neither of them were speaking, but love emanated from both of them. Their hearts besting only for one another. At this moment, no words were needed. This dance was Draco telling Hermione how much he loved her and Hermione telling Draco that he was the love of her life. He would never be able to find the words to properly tell her exactly how much she meant to him.

As the aria finished, Hermione placed her hands on either side of Draco's face and softly kissed him. This had been one of the most tumultuous and heartbreaking years of her life, and she didn't know how she could have survived without Draco. For Hermione this kiss was full of thanks for the love and care he had shown her. For Draco, this kiss was full of his love and apologies formal the hurt he had brought her, but also the promise that so long as he loved her, nothing terrible would ever happen to her so long as he drew breath.

"I love you." She whispered against his lips.

"And I you." He whispered back.


	21. Chapter 21

**_Hi everyone. Here we are, chapter 21! And the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald trailer dropped last week, I hope you're all as excited as I am! I just want to say that I am also deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Stephen Hawking as he was a hero of mine and someone who I greatly admired. I'm also going to be starting a new fix soon, still with Draco and Hermione, so keep your eyes peeled in the next few days. As always, happy reading and comment below. Love as always, .Granger12_**

July was starting to be a really busy month for Draco and Hermione. The Magical Centre for Children was being opened tomorrow, Hermione felt like she had tried on nearly every wedding dress in London as well as preparing for the World Cup next week and Draco had found that since his speech at Hogwarts last month, his client list had slowly doubled in size. They had barely seen each other since their anniversary dinner with the exception of collaborating at work, they seemed to be taking it in turns arriving home late only to find the other already in a deep sleep. All that Draco and Hermione seemed capable of right now is work, wedding plans and sleep. Tonight however, was a rare occasion that they were both home before seven and even then it wasn't their choice, they both needed to prepare for tomorrow.

"Thanks for your help today." Draco said, lying on the floor still in his work clothes, playing with Lord Wiggles.

"I'm just glad it's all done." Hermione said, tucking herself into bed.

Hermione had spent the day reviewing security measures around the building with Harry. Draco had pointed out that they were the best people for the job due to the good job they did staying hidden when they were seventeen. Hermione had decided that the building would be placed under the Fidelius Charm, with Harry, Draco, Hermione, Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt all acting as Secret Keepers. Details about the Centre would be included in each child's Hogwarts letter, therefore allowing them access into the grounds. Not only was the Centre going to be equipped with support for children, but also support for muggle parents while their children were away at Hogwarts too.

"There's going to be a lot of people there tomorrow." Hermione stated.

"Yeah, should be a good turn out." Draco replied, using a sock to play tug of war with his dog. "Lots of journalists too so we should get some good coverage. Unfortunately Rita Skeeter is going to be there."

Rita Skeeter. If ever there was a woman Hermione never wished to see again it as that woman. She worked for a gossip column in the Daily Prophet and her unauthorised biographies about Harry, Snape and Dumbledore were all fiction with minimal truths. "If she prints anything negative, I'm exposing her." Hermione said simply.

"Exposing her?" Draco asked, his curiosity peaked.

"She's an unregistered Animagus, remember?" Hermione said.

That was right, how could he forget. He remembered talking to her in his hand throughout the TriWizard Tournament when it was at Hogwarts to spread rumours about Potter. "I'm sure it won't come to that." Draco said.

"Harry's bringing the Dursley's too." Hermione reminded him.

"It's great that he's bringing them along to help them adjust, but I don't want to make an example out of them just because they're Harry Potters relatives." Draco said, putting Lord Wiggles to bed. "They're already going to be written about because they are related to him, no point in adding to their stress. I just don't want to give Rita Skeeter an excuse to write something bad about our Centre."

"I can see your point." She said as he climbed off the floor and into bed. "Are you nervous at all?"

"A little but not really. You're making the speech." He yawned. "I feel like I haven't seen you in over a week."

"You haven't." Hermione said, rolling over to face him. "I think we've spent more time together in your office than at home."

Hermione looked at Draco and saw that he was already asleep, having only managed to take his shoes off and his mouth hanging open. Hermione reached behind her, grabbed her wand and magicked Draco's clothes off so he wouldn't ruin his suit. She was so proud of him and what he had created in the last few months, it really was a wonderful idea and she was surprised that nobody else had come up with it sooner. With one more wave of her wand, Hermione tuned the lights off and quickly fell asleep herself, excited for what tomorrow was going to be.

* * *

"Come here you little shit!"

Hermione had just finished getting dressed when she heard Draco curse from downstairs. She was wearing a pale blue wrap around dress that fell to her knees with a v-neckline and capped sleeves paired with white pumps and her hair was up in a high ponytail, something nice and summery on this beautiful sunny day. She walked downstairs to see Draco chasing the dog around the house, trying to get his socks back.

"Wiggles come here!" Draco said exasperatedly as the dog ran under the table.

"That's what you get for teaching him your socks are play things." She laughed as he reached under the table and finally retrieved his socks.

Draco put on his socks and shoes, standing up so Hermione could inspect his outfit. He decided to break away from wearing a suit today, instead, he had on beige trousers, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow and the top two buttons undone and a navy waistcoat. Hermione had opted for a summery outfit today, so he thought he had better match her. He wore his new bracelet from Hermione and her Fathers watch on his left arm along with his black engagement ring.

"You look handsome." Hermione told him, collecting her clutch from the table. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be." Draco said, trying to calm his nerves.

They apparated to the site and were instantly in awe. Where a handsome but dark building once stood had been replaced with an equally impressive in size brand new French inspired Manor. It was three stories high and was white and looked inviting. The bottom floor was devoted to offices, the second floor bad a library and activity rooms and the top floor had been built as bedrooms to house kids who had no family. There was also a small area outside where they could experience handling a broomstick. As Hermione had pointed out that as a muggleborn, being presented with a broomstick and being told you can fly on it was a difficult hurdle to jump. The only thing that remained from before were the white peacocks that wandered through the grounds. It looked wonderful with big embossed letters over the door stating the name of the Centre. The interior was decorated in yellows, creams and reds with plenty of rooms for all sorts of activities.

"This looks wonderful!" Hermione said, looking all around.

"I can't believe we did it." Draco said in awe.

They got to work making the final preparations, such as placing white balloons around the entrance, placing a large covered easel next to where he would be speaking and a large red ribbon across the door, when they were joined by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Professor McGonagall.

"Well isn't this a sight." McGonagall said, smiling as she surveyed the building.

"It really is astounding." Kingsley said proudly.

Draco stood back and admired his work. This building was going to be something new within the Wizarding community, something that was long overdue and a new connection between them and muggles.

"How many people are coming?" Hermione asked, joining them.

"Last I checked it was close to three hundred." McGonagall told them. "First Year letters have been delivered early, as well as some existing students being invited along, all members of Hogwarts staff shall be here too."

"Well, if all goes according to plan today, we're hoping to build an additional building over there." Draco informed them, pointing over to another empty bit of land. "Which we plan on using as a summer school if kids need that bit of extra help."

"Here they come." Hermione said, indicating to the people walking up the driveway towards them.

Draco and Hermione stood with Kingsley and McGonagall as they greeted people who walked up. They all shared the same expression of excitement and bewilderment, this was a new world they were discovering and Draco hoped that what he and Hermione were doing would benefit them in the long run. They greeted their former teachers with friendly smiles and their staff with handshakes, and a small laugh at the muggles seeing Hagrid for the first time. Their attention was grabbed by the sounds of James and Teddy running up to meet them.

"Well hello." Hermione said, giving each of them a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Harry thought we could be friends with Walter." Teddy told them. "But he's really weird."

"How is he weird?" Draco asked, crouching down to talk to the boys.

"He just is." James said like it was common knowledge. "He doesn't say anything."

"Well maybe he's scared." Draco suggested to them.

"Why?" Teddy asked him.

"Well this is all new to him." Draco explained, putting his arms around the two boys. "You two grew up knowing about magic, he didn't. So it's up to you to show him our world."

"Okay Uncle Draco." Teddy said.

They watched as Teddy and James ran back to Walter and began to talk to him and point at various things and people. Draco saw Harry approaching with people he could only guess to be his Aunt and Uncle. His Uncle was still a rather large man with a grey moustache and his Aunt was slim and well-dressed but looked stuck up. They both looked rather upset at having to be there and not surprising given their treatment of the last wizard in their family.

"Draco. Hermione." Harry greeted them once they approached. "This is my Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. My cousin Dudley, his wife Beryl and their son Walter."

"Pleasure." Hermione said, forcing a smile.

It didn't escape their notice that as soon as Dudley saw Hagrid, his eyes grew wide and his hand made to cover his backside. It had been nearly 14 years and he still remembered the curly tail Hagrid gave him. The four wizards looked at each other and fringed, trying to supress a laugh.

"Well please feel free to look around." Draco said, motioning to the grounds behind him. "And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us or any of the staff."

Harry rolled his eyes and mouthed _kill me_ as they walked away, his family grumbling about something. Draco smiled and looked around, there were so many people here, and he couldn't believe it. He took Hermione's hand and kissed the top of her head, none of this would be possible without her. Kingsley Shacklebolt shot fireworks out the end of his wand to gather the attention of everyone present.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys and girls." He said, addressing the crowd. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, I am the Minister for Magic. It is my pleasure to be standing alongside Draco Malloy, founder of this fine institution, and Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, today. Now please let me introduce the brightest witch of her age, Hermione Granger."

Hermione stood forward, acknowledging the polite round of applause. "Thank you Minister. My name is Hermione Granger and when I was your age, I too discovered that I was a witch." Hermione said, smiling at the crowd. "My parents were dentists, magic was only something we had read about in stories. When we found out that magic was real and that I was a witch, they were shocked but incredibly supportive of who I now was. As I learnt more at Hogwarts the more they struggled to fully understand what my world truly meant to me. However, they did raise me to embrace the witch I was and to always try my best. This Centre that my partner, Draco Malfoy, has created is a safe haven for families of magical children. When it is time to go and buy your first school supplies, a daunting task to everyone, come and see us and we will provide assistance. When your children come home and talk about all the new things they learnt and you're feeling unsure, come and see us. On the first of September when it is time to head through Platform Nine and Three Quarters, we will be there to guide you."

Hermione and Draco walked over to the large easel, stood on either side and unveiled a large moving portrait of Albus Dumbledore who waved to the crowd and smiled at Draco and Hermione.

"This is Albus Dumbledore. He was my teacher, my mentor and my friend." Hermione said, looking at the painting which smiled back at her. "He once told a friend that _'Understanding is the first step to acceptance.'_ We hope that all parents and guardians will all visit this building as often as you like, with or without your children, so you can help guide them with their education at Hogwarts."

Everyone clapped as Hermione waved her wand and slashed the ribbon, formally opening the building. Hermione looked around at all the excited little faces and felt immense pride at what was taking place, it seemed that the wizarding world would further embrace the muggle world. Deep down, Hermione hoped that this collaboration would reduce any chance of another child being rejected and heading down a dark and dangerous road. Hermione and Draco smiled at people as they made their way over to the Potters and Dursleys'.

"So tell me." Beryl said, addressing Draco. "What was your motivation for building this Centre?"

"There's magical education for children, but often the parents do not receive any support. I thought that needed changing." Draco explained to the group.

"In 1926 a young man in New York bottled-up his magical abilities. He was born into our world but at some point he was taken into the care of a muggle woman who physically and emotionally abused him into supressing his magic." Hermione explained to the woman. "The repression of his magic festered and turned into something dark. Something happened and he lost control, destroying half of the city. We are learning from our mistakes and ensuring that they don't happen again."

"And you think we need the help of your lot?" Harry's Uncle grunted, ignoring what Hermione had just old them.

"Not too sure if you're aware, but 'our lot' were at war seven years ago." Draco said calmly to Harry's Uncle. "At the centre of it was another wizard who received no care and no guidance outside of school and he was tormented for being different in the muggle world. We can't let any child fall through the cracks again. We fought too hard and lost too many for the peace we have today. This Centre is designed to inform muggles of our world, so their children aren't branded as freaks."

Draco could see that he had struck a nerve with the older man. He knew all about his mistreatment of Harry, and although he wasn't making a spectacle of the man, Draco was letting him know that he knew everything. Draco honestly thought it was lucky that nothing serious had happened to Harry's magical abilities whilst under their care.

"And do you have non-magical parents?" Petunia asked, glossing over the awkwardness.

"Uhhh no. I'm actually from one of twenty eight pureblood families who have no non-magical blood in its history." Draco told them.

"And you fought alongside Harry?" Dudley asked.

"If it's all the same, I'd rather not discuss this in front of the kids." Draco said curtly, nodding to the four small boys at their feet.

"Well doesn't this look cozy?" A voice they all dreaded to hear said behind them.

They turned around and saw Rita Skeeter standing there with a Cheshire cat grin on her face and her Quick Quotes Quill poised to take notes. Harry, Draco, Ginny and Hermione turned and stood in a line between the horrible woman and the muggles in an attempt to shield the children.

"What do you want?" Draco asked, not breaking eye contact with her.

"What my readers want. The story." Rita said, pointing to Draco and Hermione. "Is it true that you stole Miss Grainger away from Mr Weasley on their wedding day?"

"No."

"Is it true that you are planning to secretly release all War prisoners from Azkaban?"

"No."

"What are your thoughts about the wizard community's suspicions that it has been alleged this is all a cover so you can recruit young witches and wizards into re-establishing the Dark Lord's beliefs?" She asked slyly, waiting for Draco to explode.

"Get out!" Harry growled. "Leave or I'll arrest you for making a false allegations."

"I am merely asking for his opinion on public opinions Potter." Rita said, turning her attention to him.

"Well the Minister of Magic is right over there." Hermione said casually, pointing to Kingsley who was talking to a small group of Muggles. "We'll see his opinion on this… and Unregistered Animagus'. Don't think we forgot."

Rita Skeeter knew Hermione well enough to know that she wasn't joking. With one final huff, the cantankerous woman stormed off towards the exit where she dispparated. Draco knew that as soon as he was done here he was going to have to draft an injunction to stop whatever hate she was going to write. Harry nudged his arm and nodded at his hand, Draco hadn't realised that he had been gripping his wand.

"What was all that about?" Harry's Aunt Petunia asked, interested in the gossip.

"'Just a reporter that's been on our backs since we were fourteen." Harry said.

"Are you a Policeman?" a little voice said. Everybody looked down at little Walter who had spoken for the first time the whole day.

"Yeah I guess I am. A Wizard Policeman." Harry said, crouching down to talk to the boy. "If you study really hard at Hogwarts, then maybe you can be one too. I think Grandad Vernon would like that."

* * *

Draco was waiting in his office for Hermione to come so they could leave, tonight they were off to the Burrow for the combined celebration of Albus' first birthday and Harry's birthday. It had ben two days since the Centre's launch and everything seemed to be running smoothly. He had just finished packing up his desk when she burst into his office, brandishing the Daily Prophet.

"Have you seen this?" she asked excitedly, throwing down the Daily Prophet.

Draco had been too busy over the last two day to read the paper. He picked it up and saw a photograph of him, Hermione, McGonagall and Shacklebolt was splashed on the front page with the headline ' _A new dawn in the Malfoy Age'_

 _Two days ago, on the grounds of what used to be Malfoy Manor, former residence of Lord Voldemort, stood a sight that would have half many people in disbelief. Draco Malfoy stood proudly on the front steps of the Charles and Jean Centre for Magical Children, a concept he created in aid of muggleborn children and their families to bridge the gap between their old world and the new one they had been thrust into._

 _It is hard, for some, to picture Draco Malfoy as anything but a supporter of the Dark. However, through perseverance, he had earned himself a glorious reputation as a lawyer, often punishing wizards he once associated with. A true mark of his redemption is his closeness to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who spend the better part of their Hogwarts education fighting many of Mr Malfoy's associates. We all watched as he stood proudly while his fiancée, Hermione Granger, made an impassioned speech about her parents (who passed away when she was seventeen) and their acceptance of the magical world, but also their struggle to understand. As a Pureblood, Mr Malfoy never had to face the struggle of adjusting to magic, but has now become his mission to see that no child be excluded from our world._

 _Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger were overheard being questioned by a muggle family as to why there was a need for such an institution and their answers were nothing short of brilliant. Everyone now knows the story of Tom Riddle, how he was punished for being different as a child. However, people have long forgotten about Credence Barebone, a wizard adopted by a muggle who tortured him over his magical abilities, turning him into an Obscurus (for more information, please read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). These stories serve as a reminder that both sides can be cruel to one another, and how it is our responsibility to never let history repeat itself._

 _This Centre is something that the wizarding world should have implemented a long time ago. We understand how crucial it is to maintain a healthy relationship with muggle, so where better to start than in the homes of the future generation of wizards. Not only does the centre provide a pre-Hogwarts introduction to magic for the children, but there is also a support network for parents who need that little more guidance, a support network that is available even when students have commenced their education._

 _I for one, would like to wish Mr Malfoy every success in his new venture, and encourage every wizard and witch who is able to assist this movement in any way you can. The darkness that has long been cast over the Malfoy name has been broken by the light of a new day that is sure to usher in a new perception on the old family._

Draco couldn't believe what he was reading, it was a great article. He had somewhat avoided the papers, just in case anything negative had been printed or if Rita Skeeter had followed through with her threat of a defamatory article." Who wrote this?" he asked, flossing over it once more.

"Daphne Greengrass." Hermione told him. Well that wasn't a name she was expecting. "I went down to see her." She continued to tell him. "She told me that she asked to write the story. Apparently its her way of atoning for what her sister did."

Draco felt a wave of gratitude for his old school friend. She didn't have to write about the muggle centre or write nice things about him, considering he was a contributing factor to her parents arrest. Perhaps she was right, the dawn was indeed rising on a new age in the Malfoy family and with Hermione at his side, it was sure to be glorious.


End file.
